ArticleParasites & vectors2022
Identification of microbial taxa present in Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea) reveals widespread co-infection and associations with vector phylogeny.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- A case of a misleading conclusion: a critical reassessment of the methodological and interpretive flaws of a recent meta-analysis of the vector role of cat fleas in feline hemotropic Mycoplasma species transmission.Parasites & vectors · 2025Pooled it
- Bartonella transmission and gut microbiome dynamics in Ceratophyllus sciurorum fleas and their edible dormouse hosts (Glis glis).Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Molecular detection of zoonotic pathogens in fleas collected from dogs and cats in Portugal.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Pathogenic bacterial species and the microbiome of cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) inhabiting flea-infested homes.PloS one · 2026Article
- Emerging Risk of Flea-BorneInsects · 2025Article
- Interaction of Bacteria and Fleas, Focusing on the Plague Bacterium-A Review.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Highlighting zoonotic importance of synanthropic fleas through microbiome analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The interplay between species and locations shapes vector fleas microbial communities in plague foci: pathogens rather than symbionts?Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Detection ofTransboundary and emerging diseases · 2025Article
- Vector biology of the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis.Trends in parasitology · 2024Review
- Cat Flea Coinfection withVector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.) · 2024Article
- Documenting the microbiome diversity and distribution in selected fleas from South Africa with an emphasis on the cat flea,Parasitology · 2023Article
- Metagenomics of culture isolates and insect tissue illuminate the evolution ofMicrobial genomics · 2023Article
- Feeding on aPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The association of host and vector characteristics withFrontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCtenocephalides felis, the cat flea, is the most common ectoparasite of cats and dogs worldwide. As a cause of flea allergy dermatitis and a vector for two genera of zoonotic pathogens (Bartonella and Rickettsia spp.), the effect of the C. felis microbiome on pathogen transmission and vector survival is of substantial medical importance to both human and veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to assay the pathogenic and commensal eubacterial microbial communities of individual C. felis from multiple geographic locations and analyze these findings by location, qPCR pathogen prevalence, and flea genetic diversity.
methods16S Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was utilized to sequence the microbiome of fleas collected from free-roaming cats, and the cox1 gene was used for flea phylogenetic analysis. NGS data were analyzed for 168 individual fleas from seven locations within the US and UK. Given inconsistency in the genera historically reported to constitute the C. felis microbiome, we utilized the decontam prevalence method followed by literature review to separate contaminants from true microbiome members.
resultsNGS identified a single dominant and cosmopolitan amplicon sequence variant (ASV) from Rickettsia and Wolbachia while identifying one dominant Bartonella clarridgeiae and one dominant Bartonella henselae/Bartonella koehlerae ASV. Multiple less common ASVs from these genera were detected within restricted geographical ranges. Co-detection of two or more genera (Bartonella, Rickettsia, and/or Wolbachia) or multiple ASVs from a single genus in a single flea was common. Achromobacter, Peptoniphilus, and Rhodococcus were identified as additional candidate members of the C. felis microbiome on the basis of decontam analysis and literature review. Ctenocephalides felis phylogenetic diversity as assessed by the cox1 gene fell within currently characterized clades while identifying seven novel haplotypes. NGS sensitivity and specificity for Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. DNA detection were compared to targeted qPCR.
conclusionsOur findings confirm the widespread coinfection of fleas with multiple bacterial genera and strains, proposing three additional microbiome members. The presence of minor Bartonella, Rickettsia, and Wolbachia ASVs was found to vary by location and flea haplotype. These findings have important implications for flea-borne pathogen transmission and control.
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