A bacteriome survey of Ixodes ricinus in Hungary

Abstract

Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, has long been a prominent subject of discussion in Europe, serving as a critical vector for transmitting significant diseases such as Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme borreliosis (LB). As a result, various studies about I. ricinus have been published. I. ricinus is a poikilothermic organism dependent on climatic factors. However, In depth studies about the intricate relationship between I. ricinus and climatic factors have been lacking within Central European countries. The main goal of this study was to understand natural bacteriome differences in I. ricinus dependent on life stage based on climate variation representative for Hungary.