Metagenomics Characterization of Ixodes ricinus Intestinal Microbiota as Major Vector of Tick-Borne Diseases in Domestic Animals

Manijeh Yousefi-Behzadi; Atefeh Mehrabi; Mozhgan Ahmadinezhad; Mahdi Rohani; Saied Reza Naddaf; Amin Bagheri; Masoomeh  Shams-Ghahfarokhi; Ebrahim Maghsoudlou; Nooshin Mojahed; Leila Mounesan; Zahra Tahmasebi; Aria Sohrabi; Mostafa  Salehi-Vaziri; Zahra Salehi; Mehdi Razzaghi-Abyaneh

doi:10.18502/jad.v17i2.13620

Manijeh Yousefi-Behzadi Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Atefeh Mehrabi School of Advanced Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Branch, Tehran, Iran
Mozhgan Ahmadinezhad Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Mahdi Rohani Department of Microbiology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Saied Reza Naddaf Department of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Amin Bagheri Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research, Tehran, Iran
Masoomeh Shams-Ghahfarokhi Department of Mycology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Ebrahim Maghsoudlou Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois
Nooshin Mojahed Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
Leila Mounesan Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Zahra Tahmasebi Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Aria Sohrabi Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Mostafa Salehi-Vaziri Department of Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Zahra Salehi Department of Mycology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
Mehdi Razzaghi-Abyaneh Department of Mycology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jad.v17i2.13620

Keywords: Tick-borne disease; Microbiota; Ixodes ricinus; Next-generation sequencing; Emerging pathogens

Abstract

Background: Understanding the microbiota of disease vectors can help for developing new strategies to prevent the transmission of vector pathogens. Ixodes ricinus is one of the most notorious tick vectors with increasing importance in Iran and other parts of the world while there is limited data on its microbiota. This study aimed to use metagenomics for identifying the I. ricinus tick’s microbiota of Iran.

Methods: A total of 39 adult ticks were collected from Mazandaran (21 females), Gilan (17 females), and Golestan (1 male). Five tick pools prepared from 39 adults of I. ricinus were subjected to metagenomics analysis. The data were analyzed by targeting the V6 region of the 16S rRNA gene by Illumina 4000 Hiseq sequencing.

Results: Among hundreds of intestinal microbiota identified by metagenomics, various pathogenic microorganisms distributed in 30 genera and species including those responsible for tick-borne diseases resided in the genera Coxiella, Rickettsia, and Burkholderia were found.

Conclusion: Our results indicated that metagenomics identifies bacteria genera and species which cannot be easily recognized by routine methods. The presence of such pathogenic bacteria indicates the importance of possible zoonotic diseases in this region which could affect public health. These results further substantiate the importance of advanced metagenomics analyses to identify neglected tick-borne pathogens which enable researchers to provide efficient mapping roads for the management of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.