Molecular detection of bacterial microbome of ticks parasitizing wild boars (SUS SCROFA) in an Orang Asli community / Lim Fang Shiang
Ticks are competent hematophagous vectors of arthropod-borne diseases globally. In Malaysia, the extent of tick-borne diseases is still rarely studied and neglected. There are still many tick species from different animal hosts here in Asia region which the associated bacterial communities are un...
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Format: | Thesis |
Published: |
2019
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Online Access: | http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/11464/4/fang_shiang.pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/11464/ |
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Summary: | Ticks are competent hematophagous vectors of arthropod-borne diseases globally. In
Malaysia, the extent of tick-borne diseases is still rarely studied and neglected. There are
still many tick species from different animal hosts here in Asia region which the
associated bacterial communities are unexplored. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has
been used effectively recently in many studies to dissect the microbiomes of tick vectors,
to reveal novel bacterial pathogen. Here, we performed a survey of the bacterial
communities associated with ticks recovered from wildlife host, wild boar (n=3) trapped
near forested area surrounding the Orang Asli Community. Ticks (n=72) were
morphologically identified as Haemaphysalis hystricis (n=32), Dermacentor compactus
(n=15), Amblyomma testudinarium (n=13), Dermacentor steini (n=10) and Dermacentor
atrosignatus (n=2). Taxonomic summary of these ticks shown that there are 16 dominant
bacterial taxa (relative abundance >1%), including known bacteria associated with ticks
(Rickettsia, Coxiella and Francisella) and possibly environmental or skin bacteria from
the sampled host (Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus). From the bacterial community
analysis, it was shown that the abundance of Coxiella, Rickettsia and Francisella
appeared to be associated with H. hystricis, D. compactus and D. steini tick species
respectively, regardless of the hosts. Specific gene amplification was performed on
selected sample to identify the Coxiella, Rickettsia and Borrelia. Sequences of spotted
fever group (SFG) rickettsia were identified from 4 tick samples, with one shared high
similarity to the pathogenic Rickettsia raoultii strain. A relapsing fever (RF) group
Borrelia was identified from one sample, a first discovery in Malaysia. Coxiella burnetii
and potential Coxiella endosymbionts were identified from ten individual samples. The
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zoonotic potential of the newly found Borrelia sp., Rickettsia sp. and Coxiella sp. merits
further investigation. This study provides the baseline knowledge of the microbiome of
Haemaphysalis, Dermacentor and Amblyomma ticks commonly found in parasitizing
wild boar in an Orang Asli community. Further studies are required to verify if the
findings here are representative of the common bacterial community of ticks in Malaysia. |
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