Immune factor of bacterial origin protects ticks against host skin microbes

Hayes, Beth M.; Radkov, Atanas; Yarza, Fauna; Flores, Sebastián; Kim, Jungyun Rachel; Zhao, Ziyi; Lexa, Katrina W.; Marnin, Liron; Biboy, Jacob; Bowcutt, Victoria; Vollmer, Waldemar; Pedra, Joao H. F.; Chou, Seemay

doi:10.1101/2020.04.10.036376

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The gene encodes lytic cell wall-degrading enzymes delivered to the host bite site via saliva and responsible for selectively killing vertebrate's skin-associated bacteria. Interestingly, the enzymes had no intrinsic lytic activity against B. burgdorferi (Hayes et al, 2020) (Hayes et al, 2020). Therefore, pathogens might still affect the tick gut microbiome to facilitate their colonization, as previously observed in laboratory experiments (Abraham et al, 2017;Narasimhan et al, 2017).…”

Section: Microbiome Of I Ricinusmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…A possible explanation for our finding could be that ticks are genetically equipped to resist opportunistic bacteria, such as host skin commensals. Hayes et al (2020) has discovered that I. scapularis horizontally acquired an antimicrobial toxin gene from bacteria. The gene encodes lytic cell wall-degrading enzymes delivered to the host bite site via saliva and responsible for selectively killing vertebrate's skin-associated bacteria.…”

Section: Microbiome Of I Ricinusmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Questing microbioticks : Interactions of microbes, ticks, vertebrates, and the environment

Krawczyk

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The influence of external (a)biotic factors on the maintenance of symbionts in tick populations depends much on symbionts' mode of transmission. (this thesis) <. Ticks choose their symbionts rather than symbionts choose their ticks. (this thesis) =. An infection that is a burden for an individual can be beneficial for a population. @. The !AS rRNA amplicon sequencing technique is a powerful tool for forming hypotheses. H. We are selective about who or what should be a member of the (bio)diversity we want to preserve. A. Nowadays, it is difficult to distinguish what we really think from what we have read online.

show abstract

Section: Microbiome Of I Ricinusmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Microbiome Of I Ricinusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Questing microbioticks : Interactions of microbes, ticks, vertebrates, and the environment

Krawczyk

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A possible explanation for our nding could be that ticks are genetically equipped to resist opportunistic bacteria, such as host skin commensals. Hayes et al (2020) has discovered that I. scapularis horizontally acquired an antimicrobial toxin gene from bacteria. The gene encodes lytic cell wall-degrading enzymes delivered to the host bite site via saliva and responsible for selectively killing vertebrate's skin-associated bacteria.…”

Section: Microbiome Of I Ricinusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tick microbial associations at the crossroad of horizontal and vertical transmission pathways

Krawczyk

Röttjers

Coimbra-Dores

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Microbial communities can affect disease risk by interfering with the transmission or maintenance of pathogens in blood-feeding arthropods. Here, we investigated whether bacterial communities vary between Ixodes ricinus nymphs, which are (un)infected with horizontally-transmitted human pathogens. Methods: Ticks from eight forest sites were tested for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Babesia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Neoehrlichia mikurensis by qPCR, pooled, and their microbiomes were determined by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Tick bacterial communities clustered poorly by pathogen infection status but better by geography. As a second approach, we analysed variation in tick microorganism community structure (in terms of species co-infection) across space using hierarchical modelling of species communities. For that, we analysed almost 14,000 nymphs, which were tested with targeted qPCR for the presence of horizontally-transmitted pathogens B. burgdorferi s.l., A. phagocytophilum, and N. mikurensis, and the vertically-transmitted tick symbionts Rickettsia helvetica, Rickettsiella spp., Spiroplasma ixodetis and Midichloria mitochondrii. Results: All microorganisms but Rickettsiella spp. had either significant negative (R. helvetica and A. phagocytophilum) or positive (S. ixodetis, N. mikurensis, and B. burgdorferi s.l.) associations with M. mitochondrii. Two tick symbionts, R. helvetica and S. ixodetis, were negatively associated. As expected, both B. burgdorferi s.l. and N. mikurensis had a significant positive association with each other and a negative association with A. phagocytophilum. Although these few specific associations do not appear to affect much the entire microbiome composition, they can still be relevant for tick-borne pathogen dynamics. Conclusions: Based on our results, we propose that M. mitochondrii alters the propensity of ticks to acquire or maintain horizontally-acquired pathogens. The underlying mechanisms for some of these remarkable interactions are discussed and merit further investigation.

show abstract

Targeting the Achilles’ Heel of Bacteria: Different Mechanisms To Break Down the Peptidoglycan Cell Wall during Bacterial Warfare

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bacteria commonly live in dense polymicrobial communities and compete for scarce resources. Consequently, they employ a diverse array of mechanisms to harm, inhibit and kill their competitors. The cell wall is essential for bacterial survival by providing mechanical strength to resist osmotic stress. Because peptidoglycan is the major component of the cell wall and its synthesis is a complex multi-step pathway that requires the coordinate action of several enzymes, it provides a target for rival bacteria, which have developed a large arsenal of antibacterial molecules to attack the peptidoglycan of competitors. These molecules include antibiotics, bacteriocins and contact-dependent effectors that are either secreted into the medium or directly translocated into a target cell. In this review, we summarize the diversity of these molecules and highlight distinct mechanisms to disrupt the peptidoglycan, giving special attention to molecules that are known or have the potential to be used during interbacterial competitions.

show abstract

Immune factor of bacterial origin protects ticks against host skin microbes

Cited by 3 publications

References 33 publications

Questing microbioticks : Interactions of microbes, ticks, vertebrates, and the environment

Questing microbioticks : Interactions of microbes, ticks, vertebrates, and the environment

Tick microbial associations at the crossroad of horizontal and vertical transmission pathways

Targeting the Achilles’ Heel of Bacteria: Different Mechanisms To Break Down the Peptidoglycan Cell Wall during Bacterial Warfare

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About