Upset plot phyla and genera

Upset plots were used to determine which microbial genera and phyla were unique to <i>Rhipicephalus microplus</i> ticks collected from cattle populations in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal, providing information on the impact of spatial scale on the tick microbiome. <i>Rhipicephalus microplus </i>ticks<i> </i>reared on pathogen-free cattle were included in the analysis as a way to predict a putative core microbiome. This study determined that 148 bacterial genera were common to all samples and thus formed a theoretical South African <i>R. microplus </i>core microbiome, which may play an essential role in the biology and fitness of this species.