Tick transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi to the murine host is not influenced by environmentally acquired midgut microbiota.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ixodes scapularis is the predominant tick vector of Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, in the USA. Molecular interactions between the tick and B. burgdorferi orchestrate the migration of spirochetes from the midgut to the salivary glands-critical steps that precede transmission to the vertebrate host. Over the last decade, research efforts have invoked a potential role for the tick microbiome in modulating tick-pathogen interactions.

Results

Using multiple strategies to perturb the microbiome composition of B. burgdorferi-infected nymphal ticks, we observe that changes in the microbiome composition do not significantly influence B. burgdorferi migration from the midgut, invasion of salivary glands, or transmission to the murine host. We also show tha

SUBMITTER: Narasimhan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9575305 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature