Nonspecific Bacterial Flora Isolated from the Body Surface and Inside Ixodes ricinus Ticks

Abstract

Ixodes ricinus and other representatives of the order Ixodida are vectors of typical pathogens: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilium, Babesia spp., a tick-borne encephalitis virus, and other microorganisms which are important from a medical and veterinary point of view. The presented study focuses on the verification of nonspecific bacterial flora of I. ricinus. We analyzed ticks collected in a forest region in Silesia, an industrial district in Poland. Methods of classical microbiology and biochemical assays (API 20 NE test, API Staph test and MICRONAUT System) were used for isolation and identification of microorganisms living on the body surface of I. ricinus and inside ticks. The results show the presence of various bacteria on the surface and inside ticks' bodies. During the study, we isolated Acinetobacter lwoffi, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Aeromonas hydrophila, Achromobacter denitrificans, Alcaligenes faecalis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Micrococcus spp., Kocuria varians, Staphylococcus lentus, Kocuria kristinae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Rhizobium radiobacter, Staphylococcus xylosus. Majority of the isolated species are non-pathogenic environmental microorganisms, but some of the isolated bacterial strains could cause severe infections.

Identification of microbial taxa present in Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea) reveals widespread co-infection and associations with vector phylogeny

“…Thirteen of 457 (3%) genera exceeded this threshold (Additional file 1 : Fig. S1): Achromobacter [ 68 , 69 ] , Anaerococcus [ 70 – 73 ] , Bacteroides [ 74 , 75 ] , Blastomonas [ 76 , 77 ], Clostridium sensu stricto 5 [ 78 ], Lachnoclostridium [ 79 ] , Methanothermobacter [ 80 ] , Peptoniphilus [ 81 , 82 ] , Peptostreptococcus [ 82 , 83 ], and Rhodococcus [ 84 , 85 ]. A literature search evaluating previous reports of these genera and the rigor of the contaminant filtering in these publications supported the idea that three of these genera ( Achromobacter , Peptoniphilus , and Rhodococcus ) should be considered candidate C. felis microbiome members.…”

“…Thirteen of 457 (3%) genera exceeded this threshold (Additional file 1: Fig. S1): Achromobacter [68,69], Anaerococcus [70][71][72][73], Bacteroides [74,75], Blastomonas [76,77], Clostridium sensu stricto 5 [78], Lachnoclostridium [79], Methanothermobacter [80], Peptoniphilus [81,82], Peptostreptococcus [82,83], and Rhodococcus [84,85].…”

The Isolation of Culturable Bacteria in Ixodes ricinus Ticks of a Belgian Peri-Urban Forest Uncovers Opportunistic Bacteria Potentially Important for Public Health

“…We found the same proportions of the 3 phyla, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria, in the 113 bacteria isolated from the gut of the haematophagous Glossina pallidipes [32]. Six studies analyzed culturable bacteria in Ixodidae ticks, one in Ixodes scapularis in the Unites States [33], one in Ixodes holocyclus in Australia [3], and four in Ixodes ricinus, mostly in central Europe [15,[34][35][36]. (Supplementary Table S3).…”

Analysis of Tick Surface Decontamination Methods

“…The bacterial strains E. coli (DSM 423), P. fluorescens (DSM 4358) and M. luteus (DSM 20030) were chosen based on different cell wall constitutions for artificial spiking to the external tick microbiome to evaluate the efficiency of decontamination methods. So far, only members of the genus Pseudomonas were found in tick microbiomes [33], while Escherichia-Shigella or Microcococcus were not reported [34][35][36][37][38]. In addition, dog saliva and human sweat were artificially spiked to the external tick microbiome to add complex microbial communities of potential hosts.…”