Fig 1.
Diversity of T. sanguisuga microbiota during development.
Box plots and individual values of alpha diversity expressed as Shannon (A) and Chao1 indices (B) were compared for laboratory-raised nymphs and field-caught adults. Nymphs presented a significantly higher Shannon index compared to adults (t = 2.88, P = 0.017), but the difference in Chao1 index did not reach statistical significance (t = 0.29, P = 0.78). (C) Bacterial composition of laboratory-raised nymph and field-caught adult microbiota. Taxonomic groups are color-coded as indicated.
Fig 2.
Beta diversity of T. sanguisuga microbiota.
The beta diversity was compared between laboratory-raised nymphs and field-caught adults through NMDS analysis, which showed a statistically significant difference in taxonomic composition of the microbiota (PERMANOVA, F = 4.2; R2 = 0.23; P = 0.002). Points indicate individual bugs, and 95% elipses are shown for each group.
Fig 3.
Correlation analysis of bacterial taxa with developmental stage.
The association of bacterial taxa with developmental stage was assessed by sparCC correlation. Peptoniphilaceae, Porphyromonadaceae and to a lesser extent Enterobacteriaceae were significantly correlated with the field-caught adult microbiota, while Carnobacteriaceae, Clostridales incertae sedis, and Streptococcaceae were significantly correlated with laboratory-raised nymph microbiota (P<0.05).
Fig 4.
Co-occurrence network of bacterial taxa in T. sanguisuga.
The co-occurrence of bacterial taxa in the microbiota of laboratory-raised nymphs (Orange circle nodes) and field-caught adults (Green circle nodes) was evaluated by SparCC correlations. The correlation coefficient is indicated on the edge linking two taxa. The size of the nodes is proportional to the relative abundance of the taxa in the microbiota.
Fig 5.
Metabolic reconstruction of T. sanguisuga microbiota.
The relative abundance of carbon sources metabolized by nymph microbiota (A) is compared to those from the adult microbiota (B). Similarly, the relative amounts of fermentation products from the nymph microbiota (C) are compared with those from the adult microbiota (D). The relative contribution of the indicated bacterial taxa in the use/production of metabolites is color-coded as indicated.