Abstract
Rhipicephalus microplus is recognized as a tick species highly prevalent in cattle, with a wide pantropical distribution that seems to continue spreading geographically. However, its role as a biological vector has been scarcely studied in the livestock context. In this study, a 16S rRNA next-generation sequencing analysis was used to determine bacterial diversity in salivary glands and gut of R. microplus from two contrasting livestock agroecosystems in Antioquia, Colombia. Both the culture-independent approach (CI) and the culture-dependent (CD) approach were complementarily adopted in this study. A total of 341 unique OTUs were assigned, the richness showed to be higher in the Northern than in the Middle Magdalena region, and a high diversity was found at the phylum and genus levels in the samples obtained. With the CI approach, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were the most common phylum of bacteria regardless of the organ, or geographic origin of the specimens analyzed. While the relative abundance of bacteria at a phylum level with the CD approach varied between analyzed samples, the data obtained suggest that a high diversity of species of bacteria occurs in R. microplus from both livestock agroecosystems. Bacterial genera such as Anaplasma, Coxiella, and Ehrlichia, recognized for their implications in tick-borne diseases, were also detected, together with endosymbionts such as Lysinibacillus, previously reported as a potential tool for biological control. This information is useful to deepen the knowledge about microbial diversity regarding the relations between endosymbionts and pathogens and could facilitate the future development of epidemiological surveillance in livestock systems.
Highlights
Tick-borne diseases (TBD) are a public health problem in the world [1]
This study describes an initial exploration of the bacterial diversity of the tick species R. microplus in salivary glands and gut
The specimens analyzed here were identified as R. microplus, based on morphological characteristics confirmed by molecular and phylogenetic analyses inferred from mitochondrial DNA 16S rRNA (S1 Fig)
Summary
Tick-borne diseases (TBD) are a public health problem in the world [1]. Ticks harbor a great diversity of microorganisms, some of which are pathogenic to humans and other mammals [2]. After employing Illumina HiSeq technology, the greatest richness of bacteria was detected in partially engorged ticks with a total of 111 OTUs, where Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria were the predominant phylum, among others of the Acinetobacter, Rickettsia, Escherichia and Coxiella genera [12] These antecedents show that changes in bacterial diversity in R. microplus depend on its geographic distribution, blood-feeding, and host. Both culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches were used to describe microbial diversity in ticks, detecting important species not previously reported. These studies served as our basis to explore bacterial diversity in the midgut and salivary glands of R. microplus, using similar approaches Colombian livestock context, which had not yet been explored
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