Microbial composition of enigmatic bird parasites: Wolbachia and Spiroplasma are the most important bacterial associates of quill mites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The microbiome is an integral component of many animal species, potentially affecting behavior, physiology, and other biological properties. Despite this importance, bacterial communities remain vastly understudied in many groups of invertebrates, including mites. Quill mites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) are a poorly known group of permanent bird ectoparasites that occupy quills of feathers and feed on bird subcutaneous tissue and fluids. Most of the known species have strongly female-biased sex ratio, and it was hypothesized that this is caused by endosymbiotic bacteria. Previously, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Foggie) and a high diversity of Wolbachia strains were detected in quill mites via targeted PCR screens. Here, we use an unbiased 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequenci

SUBMITTER: Glowska E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7221428 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature