Does<i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i>sensu lato facilitate the colonisation of marginal habitats by<i>Ixodes ricinus</i>? A correlative study in the Swiss Alps

Lemoine, Mélissa; Cornetti, Luca; Tschirren, Barbara

doi:10.1101/273490

Cited by 9 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Previous studies have found that both the abundance of the tick vector I. ricinus (Jouda et al., ; Lemoine et al., ; Materna et al., ) as well as Borrelia prevalence in questing I. ricinus ticks (Lemoine et al., ) are highest at low elevations and decrease with increasing elevation. We therefore used elevation (masl) as a first proxy of spatially variable infection risk.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Data on Borrelia prevalence in questing I. ricinus at our sampling sites were obtained from Lemoine et al. (). This second measure is a more direct quantification of spatial variation in Borrelia infection risk, but it is associated with a higher measurement error because voles and ticks were sampled in only one season and sampled individuals represent only a subsample of the entire host population at a site.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have found that both the abundance of the tick vector I. ricinus (Jouda et al, 2004;Lemoine et al, 2018;Materna et al, 2005) as well as Borrelia prevalence in questing I. ricinus ticks Second, to test more directly if small-scale spatial variation in Borrelia infection risk shapes the evolution of host TLR2, we determined local Borrelia infection risk by calculating log 10 (average tick load on bank voles × Borrelia prevalence in questing ticks +1) for each sampling site (hereafter referred to as "Borrelia infection risk").…”

Section: Spatial Variation In Borrelia Infection Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The distribution and abundance of Ixodes ticks is strongly influenced by climatic factors, in particular temperature and humidity (Burri, Moran Cadenas, Douet, Moret, & Gern, ). Average temperature decreases with increasing elevation and accordingly I. ricinus abundance decreases with increasing elevation (Jouda, Perret, & Gern, ; Lemoine, Cornetti, & Tschirren, ; Materna, Daniel, & Danielová, ). Furthermore, Borrelia prevalence in I. ricinus nymphs significantly decreases with increasing elevation (Lemoine et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Average temperature decreases with increasing elevation and accordingly I. ricinus abundance decreases with increasing elevation (Jouda, Perret, & Gern, ; Lemoine, Cornetti, & Tschirren, ; Materna, Daniel, & Danielová, ). Furthermore, Borrelia prevalence in I. ricinus nymphs significantly decreases with increasing elevation (Lemoine et al., ). The combination of these two factors, a lower vector abundance and a lower Borrelia prevalence in these vectors, suggests that the risk of Borrelia infection is spatially heterogeneous and decreases along elevational clines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Small‐scale spatial variation in infection risk shapes the evolution of a Borrelia resistance gene in wild rodents

et al. 2018

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Spatial variation in pathogen-mediated selection is predicted to influence the evolutionary trajectory of host populations and lead to spatial variation in their immunogenetic composition. However, to date few studies have been able to directly link small-scale spatial variation in infection risk to host immune gene evolution in natural, nonhuman populations. Here, we use a natural rodent-Borrelia system to test for associations between landscape-level spatial variation in Borrelia infection risk along replicated elevational gradients in the Swiss Alps and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) evolution, a candidate gene for Borrelia resistance, across bank vole (Myodes glareolus) populations. We found that Borrelia infection risk (i.e., the product of Borrelia prevalence in questing ticks and the average tick load of voles at a sampling site) was spatially variable and significantly negatively associated with elevation. Across sampling sites, Borrelia prevalence in bank voles was significantly positively associated with Borrelia infection risk along the elevational clines. We observed a significant association between naturally occurring TLR2 polymorphisms in hosts and their Borrelia infection status. The TLR2 variant associated with a reduced likelihood of Borrelia infection was most common in rodent populations at lower elevations that face a high Borrelia infection risk, and its frequency changed in accordance with the change in Borrelia infection risk along the elevational clines. These results suggest that small-scale spatial variation in parasite-mediated selection affects the immunogenetic composition of natural host populations, providing a striking example that the microbial environment shapes the evolution of the host's immune system in the wild.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Spatial Variation In Borrelia Infection Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Small‐scale spatial variation in infection risk shapes the evolution of a Borrelia resistance gene in wild rodents

et al. 2018

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Elevational Changes in Bacterial Microbiota Structure and Diversity in an Arthropod-Disease Vector

2021

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Environmental conditions change rapidly along elevational gradients and have been found to affect community composition in macroscopic taxa, with lower diversity typically observed at higher elevations. In contrast, microbial community responses to elevation are still poorly understood. Specifically, the effects of elevation on vector-associated microbiota have not been studied to date, even though the within-vector microbial community is known to influence vector competence for a range of zoonotic pathogens. Here we characterize the structure and diversity of the bacterial microbiota in an important zoonotic disease vector, the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus, along replicated elevational gradient (630–1673 m) in the Swiss Alps. 16S rRNA sequencing of the whole within-tick bacterial microbiota of questing nymphs and adults revealed a decrease in Faith’s phylogenetic microbial alpha diversity with increasing elevation, while beta diversity analyses revealed a lower variation in microbial community composition at higher elevations. We also found a higher microbial diversity later in the season and significant differences in microbial diversity among tick life stages and sexes, with lowest microbial alpha diversity observed in adult females. No associations between tick genetic diversity and bacterial diversity were observed. Our study demonstrates systematic changes in tick bacterial microbiota diversity along elevational gradients. The observed patterns mirror diversity changes along elevational gradients typically observed in macroscopic taxa, and they highlight the key role of environmental factors in shaping within-host microbial communities in ectotherms.

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Elevational changes in bacterial microbiota structure and diversity in an arthropod-disease vector

Aivelo

Lemoine

Tschirren

2021

Preprint

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Environmental conditions change rapidly along elevational gradients and have been found to affect community composition in macroscopic taxa, with lower diversity typically observed at higher elevations. In contrast, microbial community responses to elevation are still poorly understood. Specifically, the effects of elevation on vector-associated microbiota have not been studied to date, even though the within-vector microbial community is known to influence vector competence for a range of zoonotic pathogens. Here we characterize the structure and diversity of the bacterial microbiota in an important zoonotic disease vector, the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus, along replicated elevational gradient (630 - 1673 masl) in the Swiss Alps. 16S rRNA sequencing of the whole within-tick bacterial microbiota of questing nymphs and adults revealed a decrease in Faith's phylogenetic microbial alpha diversity with increasing elevation, while beta diversity analyses revealed a lower variation in microbial community composition at higher elevations. We also found a higher microbial diversity later in the season and significant differences in microbial diversity among tick life stages and sexes, with lowest microbial alpha diversity observed in adult females. No associations between tick genetic diversity and bacterial diversity were observed. Our study demonstrates systematic changes in tick bacterial microbiota diversity along elevational gradients. The observed patterns mirror diversity changes along elevational gradients typically observed in macroscopic taxa, and they highlight the key role of environmental factors in shaping within-host microbial communities in ectotherms.

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DoesBorrelia burgdorferisensu lato facilitate the colonisation of marginal habitats byIxodes ricinus? A correlative study in the Swiss Alps

Cited by 9 publications

References 48 publications

Small‐scale spatial variation in infection risk shapes the evolution of a Borrelia resistance gene in wild rodents

Small‐scale spatial variation in infection risk shapes the evolution of a Borrelia resistance gene in wild rodents

Elevational Changes in Bacterial Microbiota Structure and Diversity in an Arthropod-Disease Vector

Elevational changes in bacterial microbiota structure and diversity in an arthropod-disease vector

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