Impact of endosymbionts on tick physiology and fitness

Autor: Agatha O. Kolo, Rahul Raghavan
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Parasitology, Vol 150, Pp 859-865 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 00311820
0031-1820
1469-8161
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182023000793
Popis: Ticks transmit pathogens and harbour non-pathogenic, vertically transmitted intracellular bacteria termed endosymbionts. Almost all ticks studied to date contain 1 or more of Coxiella, Francisella, Rickettsia or Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii endosymbionts, indicative of their importance to tick physiology. Genomic and experimental data suggest that endosymbionts promote tick development and reproductive success. Here, we review the limited information currently available on the potential roles endosymbionts play in enhancing tick metabolism and fitness. Future studies that expand on these findings are needed to better understand endosymbionts’ contributions to tick biology. This knowledge could potentially be applied to design novel strategies that target endosymbiont function to control the spread of ticks and pathogens they vector.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals