The Isolation of Culturable Bacteria in Ixodes ricinus Ticks of a Belgian Peri-Urban Forest Uncovers Opportunistic Bacteria Potentially Important for Public Health

Raphaël Rousseau, Sophie O. Vanwambeke, Cécile Boland and Marcella Mori
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Raphaël Rousseau: Georges Lemaître Centre for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Place Pasteur, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Sophie O. Vanwambeke: Georges Lemaître Centre for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Place Pasteur, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Cécile Boland: Sciensano, Veterinary Bacteriology, Groeselenberg 99, B-1180 Ukkel, Belgium
Marcella Mori: Sciensano, Veterinary Bacteriology, Groeselenberg 99, B-1180 Ukkel, Belgium

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: Most bacteria found in ticks are not pathogenic to humans but coexist as endosymbionts and may have effects on tick fitness and pathogen transmission. In this study, we cultured and isolated 78 bacteria from 954 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in 7 sites of a Belgian peri-urban forest. Most isolated species were non-pathogenic environmental microorganisms, and were from the Firmicutes (69.23%), Actinobacteria (17.95%) and Proteobacteria (3.84%) phyla. One bacterium isolate was particularly noteworthy, Cedecea davisae , a rare opportunistic bacterium, naturally resistant to various antibiotics. It has never been isolated from ticks before and this isolated strain was resistant to ampicillin, cefoxitin and colistin. Although cultivable bacteria do not represent the complete tick microbiota, the sites presented variable bacterial compositions and diversities. This study is a first attempt to describe the culturable microbiota of ticks collected in Belgium. Further collections and analyses of ticks of different species, from various areas and using other bacterial identification methods would strengthen these results. However, they highlight the importance of ticks as potential sentinel for opportunistic bacteria of public health importance.

Keywords: Ixodes ricinus; microbiota; bacterial flora; Cedecea davisae; species diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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