ArticlePloS one2020
Factors affecting the microbiome of Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Advances in the use of entomopathogenic fungi to control ixodid ticks.Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria = Brazilian journal of veterinary parasitology : Orgao Oficial do Colegio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria · 2026Review
- FirstCurrent research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2026Article
- Sexual and regional differences in the microbiome and functional metagenome of the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum.Animal microbiome · 2025Article
- Infection-Mediated Shifts in the Microbial Communities of Deer-FedMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Microbiome variation between male and female Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from camels in the UAE.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Host-Specificity and Network Structure of Tick Microbiota in Co-Distributed Species From the Iberian Peninsula.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
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- The Microbiome and Coxiella Diversity Found in Amblyomma hebraeum and Dermacentor rhinocerinus Ticks Sampled from White Rhinoceros.Microbial ecology · 2025Article
- Genomic and Proteomic Analyses of Bacterial Communities ofMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Microbial community variations in adultFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Microbiome ofInsects · 2024Article
- Defining the bacterial microbiome of ticks in Chongwe and Chisamba Districts of Zambia.Infectious medicine · 2024Article
- The Tick Microbiome: The "Other Bacterial Players" in Tick Biocontrol.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Deciphering the microbial communities in ticks of Inner Mongolia: ecological determinants and pathogen profiles.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- The impact of bloodmeal and geographic region on the richness, diversity, and function of internal microbial community inHeliyon · 2024Article
- Microbial community characteristics and pathogens detection inFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
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- Can Tick Microbiome Explain Nonlinear Relationship between Tick Abundance and Lyme Disease Incidence?Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The microbial community composition of disease vectors can impact pathogen establishment and transmission as well as on vector behavior and fitness. While data on vector microbiota are accumulating quickly, determinants of the variation in disease vector microbial communities are incompletely understood. We explored the microbiome of two human-biting tick species abundant in eastern North America (Amblyomma americanum and Ixodes scapularis) to identify the relative contribution of tick species, tick life stage, tick sex, environmental context and vertical transmission to the richness, diversity, and species composition of the tick microbiome. We sampled 89 adult and nymphal Ixodes scapularis (N = 49) and Amblyomma americanum (N = 40) from two field sites and characterized the microbiome of each individual using the v3-v4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. We identified significant variation in microbial community composition due to tick species and life stage with lesser impact of sampling site. Compared to unfed nymphs and males, the microbiome of engorged adult female I. scapularis, as well as the egg masses they produced, were low in bacterial richness and diversity and were dominated by Rickettsia, suggesting strong vertical transmission of this genus. Likewise, microbiota of A. americanum nymphs and males were more diverse than those of adult females. Among bacteria of public health importance, we detected several different Rickettsia sequence types, several of which were distinct from known species. Borrelia was relatively common in I. scapularis but did not show the same level of sequence variation as Rickettsia. Several bacterial genera were significantly over-represented in Borrelia-infected I. scapularis, suggesting a potential interaction of facilitative relationship between these taxa; no OTUs were under-represented in Borrelia-infected ticks. The systematic sampling we conducted for this study allowed us to partition the variation in tick microbial composition as a function of tick- and environmentally-related factors. Upon more complete understanding of the forces that shape the tick microbiome it will be possible to design targeted experimental studies to test the impacts of individual taxa and suites of microbes on vector-borne pathogen transmission and on vector biology.
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