Tick Microbiomes in Neotropical Forest Fragments Are Best Explained by Tick-Associated and Environmental Factors Rather than Host Blood Source

Kueneman, Jordan G.; Esser, Helen J.; Weiss, Sophie; Jansen, Patrick A.; Foley, Janet E.

doi:10.1128/aem.02668-20

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Bacterial richness and diversity varied across the life stages of H. longicornis, which is line with previous ndings [12,13,43]. However, there was no noticeable trend in whether the richness and diversity of bacteria increase or decrease along with tick development.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Another possibility is that blood meals can stimulate the proliferation of certain bacteria, for example, Coxiella has a high abundance in fed female ticks. However, the effect of blood meals on tick microbial richness varied between tick species, as the study by Kueneman et al [43] found that host blood source does not explain variation in tick microbial richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Bacterial Microbiota Analysis Demonstrates That Tick Can Acquire Bacteria From Habitat and Host Blood Meal

Zhang

Zhou

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Exploring the bacterial microbiota is imperative to tick control since it has an important role in tick physiology and vector capacity. The life cycle of ticks consists of parasitic and non-parasitic stages, with a diversity of habitats and host blood meals. Whether and how these factors, such as tick developmental stages, tick organs, habitats and host blood meals affect tick bacterial microbiota is poorly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the bacterial microbiotas of hard tick Haemaphysalis longicornis, their blood meals and habitats using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. The bacterial richness and diversity in ticks varied depending on the tick developmental stage, feeding status and the tick organs. Results showed that fed ticks present a higher bacterial richness suggesting that ticks may acquire bacteria from blood meals. The significant overlap of the bacteriota of fed ticks and the host blood also support this possibility. Another possibility is that blood meals can stimulate the proliferation of certain bacteria. However, most shared bacteria cannot transmit throughout the tick life cycle, as they were not present in tick eggs. The most shared bacteria between ticks and habitats are genus of Staphylococcus, Pseudomonus, Enterobacter, Acinetobacer and Stenotrophomonas, some of them are also present in tick organ, suggesting that these environmental bacteria cannot be completely washed away and can be acquired by ticks. As tick reproductive organ, ovary showed the lowest bacterial richness and diversity compared to other organs. The predominant proportion of Coxiella in fed females and ovary further demonstrated that this genus is required for H. longicornis reproduction system. These findings further reveal that the bacterial composition of ticks is influenced by a variety of factors and will help in subsequent studies of the function of these bacteria.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Bacterial Microbiota Analysis Demonstrates That Tick Can Acquire Bacteria From Habitat and Host Blood Meal

Zhang

Zhou

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Several studies have reported on the structure and microbial composition of field-collected and lab-maintained tick populations ( Budachetri et al., 2014 ; Budachetri et al., 2017 ; Karim et al., 2017 ; Ross et al., 2018 ; Varela-Stokes et al., 2018 ; Portillo et al., 2019 ; Thapa et al., 2019a ; Zhang et al., 2019 ; Adegoke et al., 2020 ; Gil et al., 2020 ; Guizzo et al., 2020 ; Kumar et al., 2022 ; Maldonado-Ruiz et al., 2021 ; Rojas-Jaimes et al., 2021 ). These studies have revealed a variety of factors responsible for the differences among microbial communities between different tick samples, thus contributing extensively to our understanding of how microbial communities residing within the tick contribute to several aspects of tick biology ( Ponnusamy et al., 2014 ; Budachetri and Karim, 2015 ; Trout Fryxell and DeBruyn, 2016 ; Budachetri et al., 2018 ; Thapa et al., 2019b ; Adegoke et al., 2020 ; Brinkerhoff et al., 2020 ; Kueneman et al., 2021 ). However, the structure of Am.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hematophagy and tick-borne Rickettsial pathogen shape the microbial community structure and predicted functions within the tick vector, Amblyomma maculatum

Adegoke

Kumar

Budachetri

et al. 2022

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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BackgroundTicks are the primary vectors of emerging and resurging pathogens of public health significance worldwide. Analyzing tick bacterial composition, diversity, and functionality across developmental stages and tissues is crucial for designing new strategies to control ticks and prevent tick-borne diseases.Materials and methodsHere, we explored the microbial communities across the developmental timeline and in different tissues of the Gulf-Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum). Using a high-throughput sequencing approach, the influence of blood meal and Rickettsia parkeri, a spotted fever group rickettsiae infection in driving changes in microbiome composition, diversity, and functionality was determined.ResultsThis study shows that the core microbiome of Am. maculatum comprises ten core bacterial genera. The genus Rickettsia, Francisella, and Candidatus_Midichloria are the key players, with positive interactions within each developmental stage and adult tick organ tested. Blood meal and Rickettsia parkeri led to an increase in the bacterial abundance in the tissues. According to functional analysis, the increase in bacterial numbers is positively correlated to highly abundant energy metabolism orthologs with blood meal. Correlation analysis identified an increase in OTUs identified as Candidatus Midichloria and a subsequent decrease in Francisella OTUs in Rickettsia parkeri infected tick stages and tissues. Results demonstrate the abundance of Rickettsia and Francisella predominate in the core microbiome of Am. maculatum, whereas Candidatus_Midichloria and Cutibacterium prevalence increase with R. parkeri-infection. Network analysis and functional annotation suggest that R. parkeri interacts positively with Candidatus_Midichloria and negatively with Francisella.ConclusionWe conclude that tick-transmitted pathogens, such as R. parkeri establishes infection by interacting with the core microbiome of the tick vector.

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“…The different microbiomes composition found comparatively in the samples can be explained by tick's intrinsic mechanisms and environmental factors, like life stage and the collection site (Kueneman et al, 2021). However, this difference was not greatly expressed comparing the number of species in the samples, and neither an when comparing different ecosystems (females and embryonic cell culture).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Analysis on the prokaryotic microbiome in females and embryonic cell cultures of Rhipicephalus sanguineus tropical and temperate lineages from two specific localities in Brazil

Luzzi

Carvalho

Pinheiro

et al. 2021

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

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Two lineages of Rhipicephalus sanguineus are known in Brazil: the temperate or southern and the tropical or northern populations. The distribution patterns of both lineages of R. sanguineus have epidemiological implications that can affect vectorial competence concerning Ehrlichia canis, the agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis. Intending to identify the microbiomes of both lineages and compare microorganisms in R. sanguineus, we used the 16S rRNA (V4-V5 region) gene-based metataxonomic approach, through NGS sequencing on the MiSeq Illumina platform. We selected specimens of females from the environment and samples of primary embryonic cell cultures, from both lineages, and this was the first study to investigate the prokaryotic microbiome in tick cell cultures. The results showed that many bacterial taxa detected in the samples were typical members of the host environment. A significant diversity of microorganisms in R. sanguineus females and in embryonic cell cultures from both lineages was found, with emphasis on the presence of Coxiella in all samples, albeit in different proportions. The Coxiella species present in the two lineages of ticks may be different and may have co-evolved with them, thus driving different patterns of interactions between ticks and the pathogens that they can harbor or transmit to vertebrate hosts.

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Tick Microbiomes in Neotropical Forest Fragments Are Best Explained by Tick-Associated and Environmental Factors Rather than Host Blood Source

Cited by 14 publications

References 78 publications

Bacterial Microbiota Analysis Demonstrates That Tick Can Acquire Bacteria From Habitat and Host Blood Meal

Bacterial Microbiota Analysis Demonstrates That Tick Can Acquire Bacteria From Habitat and Host Blood Meal

Hematophagy and tick-borne Rickettsial pathogen shape the microbial community structure and predicted functions within the tick vector, Amblyomma maculatum

Analysis on the prokaryotic microbiome in females and embryonic cell cultures of Rhipicephalus sanguineus tropical and temperate lineages from two specific localities in Brazil

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