The chigger microbiome: big questions in a tiny world
2
Issued Date
2023-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
14714922
eISSN
14715007
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85160727111
Journal Title
Trends in Parasitology
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Trends in Parasitology (2023)
Suggested Citation
Chaisiri K., Linsuwanon P., Makepeace B.L. The chigger microbiome: big questions in a tiny world. Trends in Parasitology (2023). doi:10.1016/j.pt.2023.05.002 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/82989
Title
The chigger microbiome: big questions in a tiny world
Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
‘Chiggers’ (trombiculid mite larvae) are best known as vectors of rickettsial pathogens, Orientia spp., which cause a zoonosis, scrub typhus. However, several other pathogens (e.g., Hantaan orthohantavirus, Dabie bandavirus, Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp., and Rickettsia spp.) and bacterial symbionts (e.g., Cardinium, Rickettsiella, and Wolbachia) are being reported from chiggers with increasing frequency. Here, we explore the surprisingly diverse chigger microbiota and potential interactions within this microcosm. Key conclusions include a possible role for chiggers as vectors of viral diseases; the dominance in some chigger populations of unidentified symbionts in several bacterial families; and increasing evidence for vertical transmission of potential pathogens and symbiotic bacteria in chiggers, suggesting intimate interactions and not simply incidental acquisition of bacteria from the environment or host.