Integrating population genetic structure, microbiome, and pathogens presence data in Dermacentor variabilis

• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9367
• Publication Date: 2020-07-07T08:35:11Z
• Authors: Paula Lado; Bo Luan; Michelle E.J. All...; Christopher D. Pa...; Sandor E. Karpathy; Hans Klompen
• Keywords: Dermacentor variabilis

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) continue to emerge and re-emerge in several regions of the world, highlighting need for novel effective control strategies. The development strategies requires a better understanding TBDs ecology, given complexity these systems, interdisciplinary approaches are required. In recent years, microbiome vectors has received much attention, mainly because associations between native microbes pathogens may provide new promising path towards disruption pathogen transmission. However, we still do not fully understand how host genetics environmental factors interact shape organisms, or pathogenic microorganisms affect vice versa. integration different lines evidence be key improve our ecology. that context, generated presence data Dermacentor variabilis , integrated those sets with population genetic data, metadata same individual tick specimens. Clustering multivariate statistical methods were used combine, analyze, visualize sets. Interpretation results is challenging, likely due low levels diversity high abundance few taxa microbiome. Francisella was dominant almost all ticks, regardless geography sex. Nevertheless, showed that, overall, ticks from geographic differ their composition. Additionally, DNA Rickettsia rhipicephali, R. montanensis, bellii, Anaplasma spp., detected D. This first study successfully microbiome, genetics, attempted combine evidence. pre-processing steps can applied variety taxa, help ecological processes biological systems.