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Updated: Aug 5, 2025

Tick Microbiome Characterization by Next-Generation 16S rRNA Amplicon Sequencing
Published on: August 25, 2018
Vertebrate-arthropod communication dictates tick development and pathogen transmission
Osamudiamen Ebohon1, Brittany A Hart2, Brandon L Jutras1
1Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA; Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA; Center for Emerging, Zoonotic and Arthropod-borne Pathogens, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
Abstract:
Cross-species communication drives the coordination of diverse biological processes in complex systems. Rana et al. discovered that Ixodes scapularis, the tick vector of Lyme disease, produces a receptor that binds host interferon-gamma (IFNγ) in the blood meal, which orchestrates tick development, immunity, and vector competence.
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