Characterization of the bacterial microbiome of cattle ticks in northeastern Thailand through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing

Ticks are vectors of a variety of pathogens that can infect humans and animals. Ticks also harbor non-pathogenic microbiota. In Thailand, cattle ticks and tick-borne diseases have economically important effects on livestock. This is particularly true in northeastern Thailand, a region with most of the traditional beef cattle farming. However, the microbial community specifically found in cattle ticks from northeastern Thailand is still unknown. In this work, we have characterized the native bacterial communities in cattle ticks in northeastern Thailand based on analysis of DNA sequences from the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene. The results should improve our understanding of the microbial community profile of cattle ticks in the area, thereby providing a focus for future research on tick-borne pathogen control strategies.

蜱虫（tick）是多种可感染人类与动物的病原体的传播媒介，同时还携带有非致病性微生物群。在泰国，牛蜱虫及蜱传疾病对家畜养殖业造成了具有重大经济影响的危害，这一情况在泰国东北部尤为突出——该区域是传统肉牛养殖的核心分布区。然而，目前学界对于泰国东北部牛蜱虫体内特有的微生物群落仍未得到明确解析。本研究基于对16S核糖体RNA（16S rRNA）基因V3-V4高变区的DNA序列分析，对泰国东北部牛蜱虫体内的本土细菌群落进行了表征。本研究结果将有助于深化对该区域牛蜱虫微生物群落特征的认知，从而为未来蜱传病原体防控策略的相关研究提供明确方向。