Shared gut microbes between host and vector shape disease transmission risk
Cabezas-Cruz A, Piloto-Sardiñas E, Obregón D
Disease Ecology
The tick you pull off after a day in the garden carried a gut microbial community partly shaped by whichever deer or mouse fed it last, and that microbial history may determine whether it successfully transferred any pathogen to you.
When a tick or mosquito bites an animal, it swallows more than blood: it takes in immune molecules the animal's body built partly in response to its own gut bacteria. If the vector's gut bacteria look a lot like the host's, those ingested immune molecules can throw the vector's defenses into disarray, which changes whether a pathogen like Lyme disease bacteria can get a foothold. This means the invisible microbial world inside both the biter and the bitten are together pulling the levers on how disease spreads.
Key Findings
Host-derived immune effectors ingested during blood feeding can disrupt the vector's gut colonization resistance, influencing pathogen establishment
Microbiome similarity between host and vector predicts the magnitude of this immune-mediated disruption, not just pathogen load or climate alone
The effect is context-dependent and bidirectional: greater similarity may either enhance or suppress transmission depending on the system
chevron_right Technical Summary
How well a biting insect transmits disease may depend on how similar its gut microbiome is to the host it feeds on. When host and vector share microbial communities, immune molecules the vector ingests during feeding can disrupt its own gut defenses, making it easier or harder for pathogens to establish. This framework could explain why disease transmission varies so much across populations and environments.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Host-vector microbiome similarity predicts immune-mediated disturbance and vector competence.
Vector-borne disease transmission is highly heterogeneous, yet existing models emphasize climate, host density, and pathogen load. We propose that host-vector microbiome similarity represents a pre...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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