Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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Daily Overview |
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CP22: Horses & Cows 2 - 10 min talks Location: Lecture Theatre 2 Session Chair: Alicja (Ala) Tabor, The University Of Queensland Session Chair: Sara Taylor, QIMR Berghofer | |
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Decoding the Microbiome of the Australian Cattle Tick (Rhipicephalus australis): Stage-Specific Diversity and Symbiotic Associations 1: The University of Melbourne, Australia; 2: UMR BIPAR, INRAE, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Université Paris-Est, Maisons-Alfort, France; 3: School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia; 4: Institute of Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 5: Veterinary Centre for Resistance Research, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany Ticks are among the most important vectors of pathogens affecting livestock. Rhipicephalus australis (the Australian cattle tick) transmits several economically significant pathogens, including Anaplasma and Babesia spp. Increasing evidence suggests that the tick microbiome influences pathogen acquisition, persistence and transmission, thereby shaping vectorial capacity. This study characterised bacterial communities across larval, nymphal and adult stages of R. australis collected from cattle farms in Queensland, Australia. Following surface decontamination and DNA extraction, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed using the Illumina NextSeq 1000 platform, with downstream analyses conducted in QIIME 2 and R. A diverse bacterial community was identified, including Arsenophonus, Acinetobacter, Brevibacterium, Coxiella, Corynebacterium, Serratia, Stenotrophomonas, Escherichia–Shigella and Staphylococcus. Several taxa were consistently detected across all life stages, suggesting conserved or potentially symbiotic associations while others were stage-specific, indicating dynamic shifts in microbial community composition during tick development. Microbial network analyses further revealed distinct, stage-specific interaction patterns. These findings provide the first comprehensive insights into life stage-associated microbiome variation in R. australis and highlight the potential role of microbial communities in tick biology and pathogen transmission. This work establishes a foundation for microbiome-informed strategies to improve Australian cattle tick control and enhance livestock health and productivity. | |