General Microbiota of the Soft Tick Ornithodoros turicata Parasitizing the Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus) in the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

Abstract

The general bacterial microbiota of the soft tick Ornithodoros turicata found on Bolson tortoises (Gopherus flavomarginatus) were analyzed using next generation sequencing. The main aims of the study were to establish the relative abundance of bacterial taxa in the tick, and to document the presence of potentially pathogenic species for this tortoise, other animals, and humans. The study was carried-out in the Mapimi Biosphere Reserve in the northern-arid part of Mexico. Bolson tortoises (n = 45) were inspected for the presence of soft ticks, from which 11 tortoises (24.4%) had ticks in low loads (1–3 ticks per individual). Tick pools (five adult ticks each) were analyzed through 16S rRNA V3–V4 region amplification in a MiSeq Illumina, using EzBioCloud as a taxonomical reference. The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) revealed 28 phyla, 84 classes, 165 orders, 342 families, 1013 genera, and 1326 species. The high number of taxa registered for O. turicata may be the result of the variety of hosts that this tick parasitizes as they live inside G. flavomarginatus burrows. While the most abundant phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes, the most abundant species were two endosymbionts of ticks (Midichloria-like and Coxiella-like). Two bacteria documented as pathogenic to Gopherus spp. were registered (Mycoplasma spp. and Pasteurella testudinis). The bovine and ovine tick-borne pathogens A. marginale and A. ovis, respectively, were recorded, as well as the zoonotic bacteria A. phagocytophilum,Coxiella burnetii, and Neoehrlichia sp. Tortoises parasitized with O. turicata did not show evident signs of disease, which could indicate a possible ecological role as a reservoir that has yet to be demonstrated. In fact, the defense mechanisms of this tortoise against the microorganisms transmitted by ticks during their feeding process are still unknown. Future studies on soft ticks should expand our knowledge about what components of the microbiota are notable across multiple host–microbe dynamics. Likewise, studies are required to better understand the host competence of this tortoise, considered the largest terrestrial reptile in North America distributed throughout the Chihuahuan Desert since the late Pleistocene.

Bacteria related to tick-borne pathogen assemblages in Ornithodoros cf. hasei (Acari: Argasidae) and blood of the wild mammal hosts in the Orinoquia region, Colombia

“…Our results demonstrate the high diversity of bacteria found in both the blood of small wild mammals and ticks. The results agree with previous studies where Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, are the most common bacteria in the tick-related microbiome (Narasimhan and Fikrig 2015), such as O. turicata (Barraza-Guerrero et al 2020), A. americanum (Maldonado-Ruiz et al 2021 and A. tuberculatum (Budachetri et al 2016). Moreover, Proteobacteria has been related as one of the most common and dominant bacterial types in the tick microbiome in general, and it has been reported as the main abundant taxon in species such as A. japonicus (Yan et al 2019), Dermacentor marginatus, I. ricinus, and Rhiphicephalus sanguineus (Portillo et al 2019).…”

Detection of Tick-Borne Bacterial and Protozoan Pathogens in Ticks from the Zambia–Angola Border

“…Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii is an endosymbiont of ixodid ticks, such as Ixodes ricinus , A. americanum , H. marginatum , R. turanicus , and H. wellingtoni , and has been reported worldwide [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Recently, it was also reported in the argasid tick, Ornithodoros turicata [ 53 ]. The role of Ca.…”

Update on the intricate tango between tick microbiomes and tick‐borne pathogens

“…39 CLEs have been detected in several species of soft ticks belonging to both Argas and Ornithodoros genera, including very recently in Ornithodoros turicata parasitizing several tortoises in Mexico. 40 They have equally been frequently detected in several hard tick genera including Amblyomma, Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus, Ixodes and Dermacentor. 41 At a finer scale within ticks, CLEs have been detected in the midgut, Malpighian tubules, ovaries and salivary glands, as recently demonstrated by Buysse et al 42 in three European tick species, Ornithodoros maritimus, Dermacentor marginatus and Ixodes hexagonus.…”

“…They may also be involved in reproductive fitness in Amblyomma americanum 38 and are known to be close to the pathogen C burnetii 39 . CLEs have been detected in several species of soft ticks belonging to both Argas and Ornithodoros genera, including very recently in Ornithodoros turicata parasitizing several tortoises in Mexico 40 . They have equally been frequently detected in several hard tick genera including Amblyomma , Haemaphysalis , Rhipicephalus , Ixodes and Dermacentor 41 .…”

“…These intra‐mitochondrial gram‐negative endosymbiotic alpha‐proteobacteria, vertically transmitted to progeny, have been detected in fewer tick species 36 . However, it has recently been identified as the most abundant bacterial endosymbiont in the soft tick O turicata , collected on Bolson tortoises 40 . This endosymbiont is also particularly common to Ixodes ricinus , 25,50 with wild adult females regularly found to have greater infection prevalence than males, 51,52 suggesting a nutritional role, as only females take a blood meal in this tick species, 36 or a role during the egg‐laying as an additional ATP source for the host cell during oogenesis 53 .…”