Department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan.
Department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan - Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan.
Parasite. 2024;31:74. doi: 10.1051/parasite/2024074. Epub 2024 Nov 28.
Hyalomma anatolicum and Rhipicephalus microplus are tick species that are important vectors of numerous pathogens affecting both humans and livestock. Endosymbionts, such as Coxiella-like endosymbionts (CLE), Francisella-like endosymbionts (FLE), and Candidatus Midichloria, play a crucial role in the physiology and vector competence of these ticks. In this study, we investigated the microbial composition of H. anatolicum and R. microplus from four geographically distinct regions of Pakistan to assess whether environmental differences influence their microbiomes. We analyzed the ticks' gut microbiome targeting the V3-V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA for Illumina 16S metagenome NGS sequencing and processed overall 144 ticks. Analysis of gut bacterial composition resulted in observation of 1200 R. microplus and 968 H. anatolicum unique amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs). Relative abundance, Alpha diversity (Shannon, Faith's phylogenetic distance) and beta diversity metrics (Bray-Curtis, Jaccard and UniFrac) were analyzed and revealed that H. anatolicum ticks have significantly unique and diverse microbial communities with Acinetobacter indicus and Francisella-like endosymbionts dominating as opposed to Candidatus Midichloria. Rhipicephalus microplus exhibited results consistent with the previous studies with no major changes in microbiome including Coxiella-like endosymbionts as the major contributor. These findings suggest that geographical and environmental factors play a significant role in shaping the tick microbiome, with potential consequences for disease transmission and tick survivability. Further research is needed to elucidate the functional roles of these microbial shifts and their impact on public health and livestock in affected regions.
绵羊泰勒焦虫和璃眼蜱是两种重要的蜱种，它们是许多影响人类和牲畜的病原体的重要载体。内共生体，如柯克斯体样内共生体（CLE）、弗朗西斯菌样内共生体（FLE）和 Midichloria 候选体，在这些蜱的生理和媒介能力中起着至关重要的作用。在这项研究中，我们调查了来自巴基斯坦四个地理位置不同的地区的 H. anatolicum 和 R. microplus 的微生物组成，以评估环境差异是否影响它们的微生物组。我们针对 16S rRNA 的 V3-V4 高变区，对蜱的肠道微生物组进行了靶向分析，使用 Illumina 16S 宏基因组 NGS 测序进行了分析，共处理了 144 只蜱。肠道细菌组成的分析导致观察到 1200 个 R. microplus 和 968 个 H. anatolicum 独特的扩增子测序变体（ASVs）。相对丰度、Alpha 多样性（Shannon、Faith 的系统发育距离）和 Beta 多样性指标（Bray-Curtis、Jaccard 和 UniFrac）进行了分析，结果表明 H. anatolicum 蜱的微生物群落具有显著的独特性和多样性，其中主要优势种群为不动杆菌指示种和弗朗西斯菌样内共生体，而候选体 Midichloria 较少。Rhipicephalus microplus 的微生物组结果与之前的研究一致，没有明显变化，包括 Coxiella 样内共生体作为主要贡献者。这些发现表明，地理和环境因素在塑造蜱的微生物组方面起着重要作用，这可能对疾病传播和蜱的生存能力产生影响。需要进一步研究来阐明这些微生物变化的功能作用及其对受影响地区公共卫生和畜牧业的影响。
