Honors College Theses
Publication Date
2025
Major
Biology (B.S.B.)
Release Option
Open Access
Faculty Mentor
Lorenza Beati
Abstract
The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, is the most common tick in Georgia. It is mainly known as an Ehrlichia spp. vector, but its microbiome can be diverse, depending on geography, developmental stage, and season. Little is known about bacterial diversity in ticks from the southeastern U.S. A Nanopore MinION sequencer was used for a preliminary analysis of the bacterial microbiome in A. americanum from the Statesboro region. DNA was extracted from 39 nymphs, 35 males, and 39 females. DNA samples were pooled by month of collection and life stage/sex, amplified with barcoded 16SrDNA primers, and sequenced. Approx. 77% of the identified reads corresponded to environmental microbiota indicating that surface sterilization was not sufficiently effective. Bacterial genera, commonly associated with ticks, such as Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Borrelia, Coxiella, and Rickettsiella, were detected with variable read prevalence.
Recommended Citation
Zierdt, Ella; Beati, Lorenza; Humphrey, Mary; and Dralabu, Saviour, "Analysis of the Microbiome of Amblyomma americanum in the Statesboro Region" (2025). Honors College Theses. 1030.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/honors-theses/1030
