Table 1 Summary of NGS studies that have described the diversity and composition of tick microbiomes

Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, Australia

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V1-V2)

Ixodes holocyclus (paralysis tick); Amblyomma triguttatum (kangaroo tick); Haemaphysalis bancrofti (wallaby tick); Haemaphysalis longicornis (bush or scrub tick)

Humans (Homo sapiens)

Whole adults and nymphs

[65]

New South Wales, Australia; Freising and Leipzig, Germany

Ion Torrent (Thermo Fisher)

16S (V1-V2)

I. holocyclus; Ixodes ricinus (castor bean, deer or sheep tick)

Questing; cattle (Bos taurus); dogs (Canis lupus familiaris); echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus); cats (Felis catus); H. sapiens; kangaroos and wallabies (Macropus spp.); common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula); Australian raven (Corvus coronoides); Australian magpie (Cracticus tibicen)

Whole adults and nymphs

[50]

Eurasia

Mudanjiang, China

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V4)

Ixodes persulcatus (Taiga tick)

Questing

Whole adults

[52]

Kibbutz Hulda, Israel

454 (Roche)

16S (V4-V6)

Rhipicephalus turanicus

Questing; C. l. familiaris

Whole adults

[51]

Northern Italy

454 (Roche)

16S (V6)

I. ricinus

Questing

Whole adults and nymphs

[44]

Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

Ixodes ovatus; I. persulcatus; Haemaphysalis flava

Questing

Adult salivary glands

[40]

Perak, Malaysia

Ion Torrent (Thermo Fisher)

16S (V6)

Haemaphysalis wellingtoni; Haemaphysalis hystricis; Haemaphysalis bispinosa

C. l. familiaris; F. catus; chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Whole adults, nymphs and larvae

[48]

Amasya and Sivas, Turkey

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

Dermacentor marginatus; Rhipicephalus annulatus (Blue cattle tick, cattle fever tick or Texas cattle fever tick)

H. sapiens

Whole adults

[132]

North America

Atlantic Canada and Ontario, Canada

Ion Torrent (Thermo Fisher)

16S (V1–2, V2, V3, V4, V5-V6, V6-V7, V8, V9)

Ixodes scapularis (deer or black-legged tick); Ixodes angustus

Questing; deer (Cervidae sp.); C. l. familiaris

Whole females and nymphs

[36]

California, USA

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V4)

Dermacentor occidentalis (Pacific coast tick)

Questing

Whole adults^a

[45]

Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, USA

454 (Roche) and MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V1-V3, V4)

I. scapularis; Ixodes affinis

Questing

Whole adults

[41]

Georgia, New York and North Carolina, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V3-V5)

Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick)

Questing

Whole adults and nymphs

[46]

Idaho, USA^b

454 (Roche)

16S (V4)

Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain wood tick)

Laboratory-reared colony; B. taurus

Salivary glands and midguts of adults, nymphs and larvae

[75]

Indiana, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

Dermacentor variabilis (American dog or wood tick); I. scapularis

Rodents (Peromyscus leucopus and Microtus ochrogaster)

Whole nymphs and larvae

[42]

Indiana, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

D. variabilis; I. scapularis

P. leucopus

Whole nymphs and larvae

[43]

Louisiana, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

Amblyomma longirostre; Amblyomma nodosum; Amblyomma maculatum (Gulf coast tick); Haemaphysalis juxtakochi

Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina); hooded warbler (Wilsonia citrina); indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea); worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum)

Whole nymphs and larvae

[133]

Mississippi, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

Amblyomma maculatum

Questing; rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus); sheep (Ovis aries)

Adult midguts, salivary glands and saliva

[53]

Mississippi, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V3-V7)

Amblyomma tuberculatum (gopher tortoise tick)

Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)

Whole females and midguts from females

[80]

Montana and Oregon, USA

PacBio (Pacific Biosciences)

16S (V1-V9)

D. andersoni

Questing

Midguts and salivary glands from males

[17]

New York, USA

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V3-V4)

I. scapularis

Questing; white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Whole larvae; midguts and salivary glands from females

[81]

North Carolina, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

A. americanum

Questing

Whole adults and nymphs

[54]

Oklahoma, USA^b

454 (Roche)

16S (V4-V6)

A. maculatum

Laboratory-reared colony; O. aries

Midguts and salivary glands from adults

[82]

Oklahoma, USA^b

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V3-V4)

A. americanum

Laboratory-reared colony

Whole females

[77]

Tennessee, USA

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V1-V4)

A. americanum

Questing

Whole adults^a

[47]

Texas, USA

454 (Roche)

16S (V1-V3)

Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (cattle tick)

B. taurus

Whole adults and eggs; midguts and ovaries from females

[13]

Texas, USA^b

Ion Torrent (Thermo Fisher)

16S (V5)

A. americanum

Laboratory-reared colony; G. g. domesticus

Whole adults and nymphs

[71]

USA^c

454 (Roche)

16S (V2)

I. scapularis

Laboratory-reared colony; Or. cuniculus

Whole larvae; midguts from nymphs

[83]

USA^c

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S (V4)

I. scapularis

Laboratory-reared colony; mice (Mus sp.)

Midguts from nymphs

[108]

Western USA

MiSeq (Illumina)

16S^d

Ixodes pacificus (western blacklegged tick)

Questing; Mus sp.; lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis)

Whole adults, nymphs and larvae

[109]

Asia

Yunnan, China

Ion Torrent (Thermo Fisher)

Viral cDNA^e

Rhipicephalus spp.

Questing

Whole adults

[97]

Hubei, Zhejiang, Beijing and Xinjiang, China

HiSeq (Illumina)

Viral cDNA^e

D. marginatus; Dermacentor spp.; Haemaphysalis doenitzi; H. longicornis; Haemaphysalis formosensis; Hyalomma asiaticum; R. microplus; Argas miniatus (fowl tick)

Questing; wild and domestic animals

Whole “individuals”

[98, 99]

Miyazaki, Japan

454 (Roche)

Bacterial and archaeal DNA^f

Amblyomma variegatum (tropical bont tick); I. ovatus, I. persulcatus; I. ricinus; Amblyomma testudinarium; H. formosensis; H. longicornis

Questing

Whole adults and nymphs

[22]

Europe

Alsace, France

HiSeq (Illumina)

Bacterial cDNA^g

I. ricinus

Questing

Whole nymphs

[23]

North America

New York, USA

Ion Torrent (Thermo Fisher)

Viral cDNA^e

A. americanum; D. variabilis; I. scapularis

Questing

Whole adults

[100]