Bacterial community profiling highlights complex diversity and novel organisms in wildlife ticks

S.L. Egan; S-M Loh; P.B. Banks; A. Gillett; L. Ahlstrom; U.M. Ryan; P.J. Irwin; C.L. Oskam

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101407

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Bacterial community profiling highlights complex diversity and novel organisms in wildlife ticks

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Bacterial community profiling highlights complex diversity and novel organisms in wildlife ticks

S.L. Egan, S-M Loh, P.B. Banks, A. Gillett, L. Ahlstrom, U.M. Ryan, P.J. Irwin and C.L. Oskam

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Vol.11(3), Article 101407

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101407

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Abstract

Ticks Acari:Ixodida transmit a greater variety of pathogens than any other blood-feeding group of arthropods. While numerous microbes have been identified inhabiting Australian Ixodidae, some of which are related to globally important tick-borne pathogens, little is known about the bacterial communities within ticks collected from Australian wildlife. In this study, 1,019 ticks were identified on 221 hosts spanning 27 wildlife species. Next-generation sequencing was used to amplify the V1-2 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene from 238 ticks; Amblyomma triguttatum (n = 6), Bothriocroton auruginans (n = 11), Bothriocroton concolor (n = 20), Haemaphysalis bancrofti (n = 10), Haemaphysalis bremneri (n = 4), Haemaphysalis humerosa (n = 13), Haemaphysalis longicornis (n = 4), Ixodes antechini (n = 29), Ixodes australiensis (n = 26), Ixodes fecialis (n = 13), Ixodes holocyclus (n = 37), Ixodes myrmecobii (n = 1), Ixodes ornithorhynchi (n = 10), Ixodes tasmani (n = 51) and Ixodes trichosuri (n = 3). After bioinformatic analyses, over 14 million assigned bacterial sequences revealed the presence of recently described bacteria ‘Candidatus Borrelia tachyglossi’, ‘Candidatus Neoehrlichia australis’, ‘Candidatus Neoehrlichia arcana’ and ‘Candidatus Ehrlichia ornithorhynchi’. Furthermore, three novel Anaplasmataceae species were identified in the present study including; a Neoehrlichia sp. in I. australiensis and I. fecialis collected from quenda (Isoodon fusciventer) (Western Australia), an Anaplasma sp. from one B. concolor from echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) (New South Wales), and an Ehrlichia sp. from a single I. fecialis parasitising a quenda (WA). This study highlights the diversity of bacterial genera harboured within wildlife ticks, which may prove to be of medical and/or veterinary importance in the future.

Details

Title: Bacterial community profiling highlights complex diversity and novel organisms in wildlife ticks
Authors/Creators: S.L. Egan (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
S-M Loh (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
P.B. Banks (Author/Creator) - The University of Sydney
A. Gillett (Author/Creator) - Australia Zoo
L. Ahlstrom (Author/Creator) - Bayer Australia Ltd, Animal Health, Pymble, New South Wales, Australia.
U.M. Ryan (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
P.J. Irwin (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
C.L. Oskam (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
Publication Details: Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Vol.11(3), Article 101407
Publisher: Elsevier GmbH
Identifiers: 991005539990707891
Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier GmbH
Murdoch Affiliation: College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Industry collaboration; Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 1 Clinical & Life Sciences; 1.258 Zoonotic Diseases; 1.258.227 Tick-borne Pathogens
Web Of Science research areas: Infectious Diseases; Microbiology; Parasitology
ESI research areas: Microbiology