Microbiome Differences Between Human Head and Body Lice Ecotypes Revealed by 16S RRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing.

Microbiome Differences Between Human Head and Body Lice Ecotypes Revealed by 16S RRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing. J Parasitol. 2020 Feb;106(1):14-24 Authors: Agany DDM, Potts R, Hernandez JLG, Gnimpieba EZ, Pietri JE Abstract Human head lice and body lice (Pediculus humanus) are neglected ectoparasites. Head lice continue to be prevalent in children worldwide, and insecticide resistance in these insects has complicated their treatment. Meanwhile, body lice, which are most common in the developing world, are resurging among marginalized populations in developed nations. Today, the microbiome is being increasingly recognized as a key mediator of insect physiology. However, the microbial communities that inhabit human lice have remained unknown beyond only a few species of bacteria. Knowledge of the microbiomes of head and body lice could improve our understanding of the observed physiological differences between the 2 ecotypes and potentially inform the development of novel interventions against lice infestations and louse-borne infectious diseases. Toward these goals, here we performed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize the microbiomes of both head and body lice and identify patterns of interest among these communities. Our data reveal that head and body lice harbor limited but distinct communities of bacteria that include known intracellular endosymbionts ("Candidatus Riesia pediculicola"), extracellular bacteria that ma...
Source: The Journal of Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Authors: Tags: J Parasitol Source Type: research