Table 1.

Primers and probes targeting mammalian retrotransposons used in the study for bloodmeal identification in ticks.

Host targeted	SINE family	Primer name	Fluorophore attached to probe	Sequence of primers and probes	Sensitivityc	Host specificityd
Multiplex 1
Mousea	B1	PlSINE-41F		GATCTCTGTGAGTTCGAGG	10−9 ng/µl	Peromyscus
		PlSINE-114R		GTTTCTCTGTGTAGCTTTGC
		PlSINE-66P	FAM	TGGGCTACCAAGTGAGCTCCAGG
Rabbit	C48	RabbSINE-131F-AG		GGAAGGCAGTGGAGGAT	10−9 ng/µl	Lagomorpha
		RabbSINE-196R-TGG		GGTGCTTCCTCCTGGTCT
		RabbSINE-167P	Cy5	GGGCCCTGCACCCCATGG
Vole	B2	MicrB2SINE-55F		TGAGTTCAATTCCCAGCAAC	10−7 ng/µl	Arvoclinaeb
		MicrB2SINE-160R		TGTATACAATATTCTGTCTGTGTG
		MicroB2SINE-113P	HEX	GCCCTCTTCTGGCCTGCAGA
Multiplex 2
Shrew	SA_Ba-325L16	SorexSINE-164F		GATTCCCAGCATCCCATATG	10−8 ng/µl	Soricidae
		SorexSINE-235rmod		RTTACTCCTGGCTCTGCA
		SorexSINE-185PCA	HEX	GTCCCCCAAGCACCGCCAGG
Squirrel	CM55	SqrlSINE-103F		CCCTGTCTCT AAATAAAATA CA	10−7 ng/µl	Sciuridae
		SqrlSINE-183R		TACCAGGGATTGAACTCAG
		SqrlSINE-132P	Cy5	GGGCTAGGGATGTGGCTCAGTGG
Single reactions
Deera	Unknown	WTDrep10-167F	Evagreen	GATCTGTTTCACCCTAGATAAT	10−8 ng/µl	Odocoileus
		WTDrep10-220R		ATGTTTCAAGAGAACAGCATC
Cat	SINE	CatSINE-120F		CTTCGGATTCTGTGTCTCC	10−7 ng/µl	Felis
		CatSINE-192R		TATTTTTGGGACAGAGAGAGAC
		CatSINE-146P MGB	FAM	TCTGMCCCTCCCCCGTT-MGB
Bird	CR1-AVI	CR1AVI-23F		SAGGCCCTGGCACAGG	See Table 5
		CR1AVI- 78 R		CCTTGRACACTTCCAGGGAT
		CR1AVI- 35 P	FAM	GCCCAGAGMAGCTGTGGC

^apreviously published (11).

^bThese primers cross-react with Peromyscus at a concentration of 10⁻⁴ ng/µl.

^cSensitivity of each primer set was determined using serial dilutions of positive control DNA. Listed is the last dilution that tested positive.

^dHost specificity for each primer set was determined by testing primers against a panel of positive control DNA from likely hosts that are common in New England forests at a dilution of 10⁻⁴ ng/µl.