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The Pacific coast tick,  Dermacentor occidentalis  Marx, is found throughout California and can harbor agents that cause human diseases such as anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and rickettsiosis 364D. Previous studies have demonstrated that nonpathogenic endosymbiotic bacteria can interfere with  Rickettsia  co-infections in other tick species. We hypothesized that within  D. occidentalis  ticks, interference may exist between different nonpathogenic endosymbiotic or nonendosymbiotic bacteria and Spotted Fever group Rickettsia (SFGR). Using PCR amplification and sequencing of the  romp A gene and intergenic region we identified a cohort of SFGR-infected and non-infected  D. occidentalis  ticks collected from San Diego County. We then amplified a partial segment of the 16S rRNA gene and used next-generation sequencing to elucidate the microbiomes and levels of co-infection in the ticks. The SFGR  R. philipii  str. 364D and  R. rhipicephali  were detected in 2.3% and 8.2% of the ticks, respectively, via  romp A sequencing. Interestingly, next generation sequencing revealed an inverse relationship between the number of  Francisella- like endosymbiont (FLE) 16S rRNA sequences and  Rickettsia  16S rRNA sequences within individual ticks that is consistent with partial interference between FLE and SFGR infecting ticks. After excluding the  Rickettsia  and FLE endosymbionts from the analysis, there was a small but significant difference in microbial community diversity and a pattern of geographic isolation by distance between collection locales. In addition, male ticks had a greater diversity of bacteria than female ticks and ticks that weren’t infected with SFGR had similar microbiomes to canine skin microbiomes. Although experimental studies are required for confirmation, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that FLEs and, to a lesser extent, other bacteria, interfere with the ability of  D. occidentalis  to be infected with certain SFGR. The results also raise interesting possibilities about the effects of putative vertebrate hosts on the tick microbiome.

Endosymbiont interference and microbial diversity of the Pacific coast tick,Dermacentor occidentalis, in San Diego County, California