Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia
IntroductionThe camel-infesting tick, Hyalomma dromedarii, is a prominent ectoparasite in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, critically impacting camel health and acting as a vector for tick-borne pathogens. Despite prior studies on its microbiota, the effects of geographic origin and s...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| author | Myriam Kratou Apolline Maitre Apolline Maitre Apolline Maitre Lianet Abuin-Denis Lianet Abuin-Denis Rachid Selmi Hanène Belkahia Abdullah D. Alanazi Hattan Gattan Hattan Gattan Bassam M. Al-Ahmadi Abdullah F. Shater Lourdes Mateos-Hernández Dasiel Obregón Lilia Messadi Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz Mourad Ben Said Mourad Ben Said |
| author_facet | Myriam Kratou Apolline Maitre Apolline Maitre Apolline Maitre Lianet Abuin-Denis Lianet Abuin-Denis Rachid Selmi Hanène Belkahia Abdullah D. Alanazi Hattan Gattan Hattan Gattan Bassam M. Al-Ahmadi Abdullah F. Shater Lourdes Mateos-Hernández Dasiel Obregón Lilia Messadi Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz Mourad Ben Said Mourad Ben Said |
| author_sort | Myriam Kratou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThe camel-infesting tick, Hyalomma dromedarii, is a prominent ectoparasite in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, critically impacting camel health and acting as a vector for tick-borne pathogens. Despite prior studies on its microbiota, the effects of geographic origin and sex on microbial community structure and functional stability remain poorly understood.MethodsTo address this, we characterized the bacterial microbiota of H. dromedarii ticks collected from camels in Tunisia (TUN) and Saudi Arabia (SA) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, microbial network analysis, and metabolic pathway prediction.ResultsOur findings indicate a dominant presence of Francisella endosymbionts in Tunisian ticks, suggesting adaptive roles of H. dromedarii ticks in arid ecosystems. Keystone taxa, particularly Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, were identified as central to microbial network structure and resilience. Moreover, network robustness analyses demonstrated enhanced ecological stability in the Tunisian tick microbiota under perturbation, indicative of higher resilience to environmental fluctuations compared to Saudi Arabian ticks. Additionally, functional pathway predictions further revealed geographically distinct metabolic profiles between both groups (Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia and males vs. females), underscoring environmental and biological influences on H. dromedarii microbiota assembly.DiscussionThese results highlight region-specific and sex-specific microbial adaptations in H. dromedarii, with potential implications for pathogen transmission dynamics and vector resilience. Understanding these microbial interactions may contribute to improved strategies for tick control and tick-borne disease prevention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-64634a917a7a4e62a315b989ed017916 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-64634a917a7a4e62a315b989ed0179162025-02-11T06:59:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-02-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.15435601543560Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and TunisiaMyriam Kratou0Apolline Maitre1Apolline Maitre2Apolline Maitre3Lianet Abuin-Denis4Lianet Abuin-Denis5Rachid Selmi6Hanène Belkahia7Abdullah D. Alanazi8Hattan Gattan9Hattan Gattan10Bassam M. Al-Ahmadi11Abdullah F. Shater12Lourdes Mateos-Hernández13Dasiel Obregón14Lilia Messadi15Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz16Mourad Ben Said17Mourad Ben Said18Laboratory of Microbiology, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba, TunisiaANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort, FranceINRAE, UR 0045 Laboratoire de Recherches Sur Le Développement de L’Elevage (SELMET LRDE), Corte, FranceEA 7310, Laboratoire de Virologie, Université de Corse, Corte, FranceANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort, FranceAnimal Biotechnology Department, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Havana, CubaLaboratory of Microbiology, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba, TunisiaLaboratory of Microbiology, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba, TunisiaDepartment of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Humanities, Shaqra University, Ad-Dawadimi, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaSpecial Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahad Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia0Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi ArabiaANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort, France1School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaLaboratory of Microbiology, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba, TunisiaANSES, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, UMR BIPAR, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, Maisons-Alfort, FranceLaboratory of Microbiology, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba, Tunisia2Department of Basic Sciences, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Sidi Thabet, University of Manouba, Manouba, TunisiaIntroductionThe camel-infesting tick, Hyalomma dromedarii, is a prominent ectoparasite in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, critically impacting camel health and acting as a vector for tick-borne pathogens. Despite prior studies on its microbiota, the effects of geographic origin and sex on microbial community structure and functional stability remain poorly understood.MethodsTo address this, we characterized the bacterial microbiota of H. dromedarii ticks collected from camels in Tunisia (TUN) and Saudi Arabia (SA) using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, microbial network analysis, and metabolic pathway prediction.ResultsOur findings indicate a dominant presence of Francisella endosymbionts in Tunisian ticks, suggesting adaptive roles of H. dromedarii ticks in arid ecosystems. Keystone taxa, particularly Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, were identified as central to microbial network structure and resilience. Moreover, network robustness analyses demonstrated enhanced ecological stability in the Tunisian tick microbiota under perturbation, indicative of higher resilience to environmental fluctuations compared to Saudi Arabian ticks. Additionally, functional pathway predictions further revealed geographically distinct metabolic profiles between both groups (Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia and males vs. females), underscoring environmental and biological influences on H. dromedarii microbiota assembly.DiscussionThese results highlight region-specific and sex-specific microbial adaptations in H. dromedarii, with potential implications for pathogen transmission dynamics and vector resilience. Understanding these microbial interactions may contribute to improved strategies for tick control and tick-borne disease prevention.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1543560/fullHyalomma dromedariimicrobiotageographic variationsex-specific differentiationco-occurrence network analysismicrobial resilience |
| spellingShingle | Myriam Kratou Apolline Maitre Apolline Maitre Apolline Maitre Lianet Abuin-Denis Lianet Abuin-Denis Rachid Selmi Hanène Belkahia Abdullah D. Alanazi Hattan Gattan Hattan Gattan Bassam M. Al-Ahmadi Abdullah F. Shater Lourdes Mateos-Hernández Dasiel Obregón Lilia Messadi Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz Mourad Ben Said Mourad Ben Said Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia Frontiers in Microbiology Hyalomma dromedarii microbiota geographic variation sex-specific differentiation co-occurrence network analysis microbial resilience |
| title | Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia |
| title_full | Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia |
| title_fullStr | Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia |
| title_short | Microbial community variations in adult Hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia |
| title_sort | microbial community variations in adult hyalomma dromedarii ticks from single locations in saudi arabia and tunisia |
| topic | Hyalomma dromedarii microbiota geographic variation sex-specific differentiation co-occurrence network analysis microbial resilience |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1543560/full |
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