Characterization of the Bacterial Microbiome of Exotic Tick Species Collected from Migratory Birds

<p>Migratory birds often serve as natural/accidental hosts to ectoparasites like ticks (predominantly immature stages) and are known reservoirs of several pathogens transmitted by ticks. Parasitizing these birds, exotic tick species often hitch rides to non-native ecological niches, bringing along tick-borne pathogens. This study aims to profile the bacteriome of exotic tick species flying in and out of the US from the Neo-tropical South. A total of 421 tick samples comprised of several different tick species were collected off migratory songbirds at sites north of the Gulf of Mexico (Louisiana State). A 16S rRNA metagenomic multiplexed sequencing approach was used to assess the microbial communities associated with these exotic tick species. The sequencing generated >11 million reads from 400 libraries, an average of 27,253 reads/library; the total number of OTUs obtained was 20,153. Collected ticks belonged to <em>Amblyomma, Ixodes,</em> and <em>Haemaphysalis</em> genera; their bacteriome was predominantly dominated by <em>Francisella, </em>with a varying abundance of <em>Rickettsia, Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii </em>and<em> Cutibacterium </em>(actinobacteria). Co-occurrence of <em>Coxiella </em>and <em>Francisella </em>were observed in three species: <em>Amblyomma geayi, Amblyomma coelebs, and Amblyomma calacaratum</em>. <em>Coxiella </em>had majority in only <em>Amblyomma geayi</em>. The overall highest diversity at genus level was found in <em>Ixodes</em> genera. Spotted fever group rickettsiae were detected in samples of <em>Amblyomma sabanerae</em> and <em>Amblyomma maculatum</em>. These findings provide an insight into the bacterial communities residing within the tick species parasitizing migratory birds.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2021

Author dc:creator

• Sen, Raima

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Shahid Karim
• Dr. Fengwei Bai
• Dr. Alex Flynt

• Exotic neotropical ticks; migratory birds; bacterial microbiome; Qiime2; 16S metagenomic multiplex sequencing
• Biotechnology
• Entomology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/839

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1900