DGGE Identification of Microorganisms Associated with Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato- or Anaplasma phagocytophilum-Infected Ixodes ricinus Ticks from Northwest Norway

Abstract EN

Ticks acquire a wide range of microorganisms as a natural part of their lifecycle.

Bacteria, viruses, and protozoa can be transmitted to ticks during feeding and free-living phases.

DGGE profiling is a molecular method to describe the microbial population associated with ticks and demonstrate some of the complexity and variety of tick-borne microorganisms.

The present study profiled a total of 120 I.

ricinus ticks, which were divided into three equally sized groups.

We found that B.

burgdorferi s.l.-infected ticks presented a pattern consisting of bacterial Pseudomonas spp.

(67.5%), Bacillus spp.

(50%), and Sphingomonas spp.

(77.5%), while A.

phagocytophilum-infected ticks were associated with Pseudomonas spp.

(82.5%) and Sphingomonas spp.

(57.5%).

All profiles had one or more Pseudomonas species present, and the intramitochondrial endosymbiont Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii was present in more than 25% of the samples.

Statistical analysis demonstrated that the microbial communities were not significantly different between the groups and that the groups could not be characterised by a specific microbial population.