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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Tick Microbiome Characterization by Next-Generation 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing
Published on: August 25, 2018
Bacterial communities associated with flea vectors of plague
David L Erickson1, Nathan E Anderson, Lauren M Cromar
1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Brigham Young University, WIDB 893, Provo, UT 84602, USA. david_erickson@byu.edu
Abstract:
The microbial flora associated with fleas may affect their ability to transmit specific pathogens, including Yersinia pestis, and also could be used to develop paratransgenesis-based approaches to interfere with transmission. To begin addressing this hypothesis, the microbial flora associated with the relatively efficient Y. pestis vectors Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothschild) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) and Oropsyllamontana (Baker) (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae), and the inefficient vector Ctenocephalides felis felis (Bouché) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) were investigated using polymerase chain reaction amplification of 16S rDNA genes. DNA sequencing revealed that these species harbor distinct communities of microbial flora and suggest that Acinetobacter sp. might be used in developing anti-transmission strategies.
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