KineTicks

Ixodes ricinus is the prevalent tick species in Europe and is recognized as the primary European vector of bacterial diseases in humans, including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis. It is now established that many tick-borne pathogens coexist with other microorganisms (microbiome) in ticks. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal dynamics of the tick microbiome and its potential influence on pathogen installation and dynamics. Such information are crucial to keep on improving our knowledge on tick-borne diseases. Using both time-series (monthly samplings during three consecutive years) and experimental approaches, this project aims to identify the spatio-temporal patterns in I. ricinus microbiome and pathogens. Both microfluidic PCRs and high throughput sequencing technologies will be used to characterize tick-borne pathogens and microbiomes. Network and modelling analyses will allow to identify potential co-occurrences between
tick-borne pathogens and other members of the microbiome and will help to better understand the pathogen installation and dynamics. The proposed working group will bring together microbiologists, ecologists and mathematicians, with the ambition to (i) develop new concepts and mathematical tools available and useful for other ecological contexts and (ii) suggest future directions for the tick microbiome ecology research and the control of tick-borne diseases.