Temporal patterns in Ixodes ricinus microbial communities: an insight into tick-borne microbe interactions

Abstract Background Ticks transmit pathogens of medical and veterinary importance and are an increasing threat to human and animal health. Assessing disease risk and developing new control strategies requires identifying members of the tick-borne microbiota as well as their temporal dynamics and interactions. Methods Using high-throughput sequencing, we studied the Ixodes ricinus microbiota and its temporal dynamics. 371 nymphs were monthly collected during three consecutive years in a peri-urban forest. After a Poisson lognormal model was adjusted to our data set, a principal component analysis, sparse network reconstruction, and differential analysis allowed us to assess seasonal and monthly variability of I. ricinus microbiota and interactions within this community. Results Around 75% of the detected sequences belonged to five genera known to be maternally inherited bacteria in arthropods and to potentially circulate in ticks: Candidatus Midichloria, Rickettsia, Spiroplasma, Arsenophonus and Wolbachia. The structure of the I. ricinus microbiota varied over time with interannual recurrence and seemed to be mainly driven by OTUs commonly found in the environment. Total network analysis revealed a majority of positive partial correlations. We identified strong relationships between OTUs belonging to Wolbachia and Arsenophonus, evidence for the presence of the parasitoid wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri in ticks. Other associations were observed between the tick symbiont Candidatus Midichloria and pathogens belonging to Rickettsia. Finally, more specific network analyses were performed on TBP-infected samples and suggested that the presence of pathogens belonging to the genera Borrelia, Anaplasma and Rickettsia may disrupt microbial interactions in I. ricinus. Conclusions We identified the I. ricinus microbiota and documented marked shifts in tick microbiota dynamics over time. Statistically, we showed strong relationships between the presence of specific pathogens and the structure of the I. ricinus microbiota. We detected close links between some tick symbionts and the potential presence of either pathogenic Rickettsia or a parasitoid in ticks. These new findings pave the way for the development of new strategies for the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases.

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Temporal patterns in Ixodes ricinus microbial communities: an insight into tick-borne microbe interactions

10.1101/2020.09.26.314179 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

E Lejal ◽

J Chiquet ◽

J Aubert ◽

S Robin ◽

A Estrada-Peña ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Network Analysis ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Ixodes Ricinus ◽

Urban Forest ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Parasitoid Wasp ◽

Microbial Interactions ◽

Data Set ◽

New Findings ◽

Strong Relationships

AbstractBackgroundTicks transmit pathogens of medical and veterinary importance, and represent an increasing threat for human and animal health. Important steps in assessing disease risk and developing possible new future control strategies involve identifying tick-borne microbes, their temporal dynamics and interactions.MethodsUsing high throughput sequencing, we studied the microbiota dynamics of Ixodes ricinus from 371 nymphs collected monthly over three consecutive years in a peri-urban forest. After adjusting a Poisson Log Normal model to our data set, the implementation of a principal component analysis as well as sparse network reconstruction and differential analysis allowed us to assess inter-annual, seasonal and monthly variability of I. ricinus microbial communities as well as their interactions.ResultsAround 75% of the detected sequences belonged to five genera known to be maternally inherited bacteria in arthropods and potentially circulating in ticks: Candidatus Midichloria, Rickettsia, Spiroplasma, Arsenophonus and Wolbachia. The structure of the I. ricinus microbiota was temporally variable with interannual recurrence and seemed to be mainly driven by OTUs belonging to environmental genera. The total network analysis revealed a majority of positive (partial) correlations. We identified strong relationships between OTUs belonging to Wolbachia and Arsenophonus, betraying the presence of the parasitoid wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri in ticks, and the well known arthropod symbiont Spiroplasma, previously documented to be involved in the defense against parasitoid wasp in Drosophila melanogaster. Other associations were observed between the tick symbiont Candidatus Midichloria and pathogens belonging to Rickettsia, probably Rickettsia helvetica. More specific network analysis finally suggested that the presence of pathogens belonging to genera Borrelia, Anaplasma and Rickettsia might disrupt microbial interactions in I. ricinus.ConclusionsHere, we identified the I. ricinus microbiota and documented for the first time the existence and recurrence of marked temporal shifts in the tick microbial community dynamics. We statistically showed strong relationships between the presence of some pathogens and the structure of the I. ricinus non-pathogenic microbes. We interestingly detected close links between some tick symbionts and the potential presence of either pathogenic Rickettsia or a parasitoid in ticks. All these new findings might be very promising for the future development of new control strategies of ticks and tick-borne diseases.

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Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Tick-Borne Diseases in North-Central Wisconsin from 2000–2016

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17145105 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (14) ◽

pp. 5105

Author(s):

Austin Rau ◽

Claudia Munoz-Zanzi ◽

Anna M. Schotthoefer ◽

Jonathan D. Oliver ◽

Jesse D. Berman

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Laboratory Data ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽

North Central ◽

Over Time

Lyme disease is a well-recognized public health problem in the USA, however, other tick-borne diseases also have major public health impacts. Yet, limited research has evaluated changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of non-Lyme tick-borne diseases within endemic regions. Using laboratory data from a large healthcare system in north-central Wisconsin from 2000–2016, we applied a Kulldorf’s scan statistic to analyze spatial, temporal and seasonal clusters of laboratory-positive cases of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis at the county level. Older males were identified as the subpopulation at greatest risk for non-Lyme tick-borne diseases and we observed a statistically significant spatial and temporal clustering of cases (p < 0.05). HGA risk shifted from west to east over time (2000–2016) with a relative risk (RR) ranging from 3.30 to 11.85, whereas babesiosis risk shifted from south to north and west over time (2004–2016) with an RR ranging from 4.33 to 4.81. Our study highlights the occurrence of non-Lyme tick-borne diseases, and identifies at-risk subpopulations and shifting spatial and temporal heterogeneities in disease risk. Our findings can be used by healthcare providers and public health practitioners to increase public awareness and improve case detection.

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A methodological framework for characterizing fish swimming and escapement behaviors in trawls

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0243311 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. e0243311

Author(s):

Marianne Robert ◽

Aurore Cortay ◽

Marie Morfin ◽

Julien Simon ◽

Fabien Morandeau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Bottom Trawl ◽

Methodological Framework ◽

Data Set ◽

Capture Process ◽

Instantaneous Rate ◽

Fishing Gears ◽

Probability Of Success ◽

Over Time

Knowledge about fish behavior is crucial to be able to influence the capture process and catch species composition. The rapid expansion of the use of underwater cameras has facilitated unprecedented opportunities for studying the behavior of species interacting with fishing gears in their natural environment. This technological advance would greatly benefit from the parallel development of dedicated methodologies accounting for right-censored observations and variable observation periods between individuals related to instrumental, environmental and behavioral events. In this paper we proposed a methodological framework, based on a parametric Weibull mixture model, to describe the process of escapement attempts through time, test effects of covariates and estimate the probability that a fish will attempt to escape. We additionally proposed to better examine the escapement process at the individual level with regard to the temporal dynamics of escapement over time. Our approach was used to analyze gadoids swimming and escapement behaviors collected using a video set up in front of a selective device known to improve selectivity on gadoids in the extension of a bottom trawl. Comparison of the fit of models indicates that i) the instantaneous rate of escape attempts is constant over time and that the escapement process can be modelled using an exponential law; ii) the mean time before attempting to escape increases with the increasing number of attempts; iii) more than 80% of the gadoids attempted to escape through the selective device; and iv) the estimated probability of success was around 15%. Effects of covariates on the probability of success were investigated using binomial regression but none of them were significant. The data set collected is insufficient to make general statements, and further observations are required to properly investigate the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic factors governing gadoids behavior in trawls. This methodology could be used to better characterize the underlying behavioral process of fish in other parts of a bottom trawl or in relation to other fishing gears.

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Simultaneous spatiotemporal super-resolution and multi-parametric fluorescence microscopy

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-22002-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jagadish Sankaran ◽

Harikrushnan Balasubramanian ◽

Wai Hoh Tang ◽

Xue Wen Ng ◽

Adrian Röllin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Single Molecule ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Growth Factor Receptor ◽

Super Resolution ◽

Actin Binding ◽

Biological Knowledge ◽

Data Set ◽

Epidermal Growth ◽

Molecular Brightness ◽

Super Resolution Microscopy

AbstractSuper-resolution microscopy and single molecule fluorescence spectroscopy require mutually exclusive experimental strategies optimizing either temporal or spatial resolution. To achieve both, we implement a GPU-supported, camera-based measurement strategy that highly resolves spatial structures (~100 nm), temporal dynamics (~2 ms), and molecular brightness from the exact same data set. Simultaneous super-resolution of spatial and temporal details leads to an improved precision in estimating the diffusion coefficient of the actin binding polypeptide Lifeact and corrects structural artefacts. Multi-parametric analysis of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Lifeact suggests that the domain partitioning of EGFR is primarily determined by EGFR-membrane interactions, possibly sub-resolution clustering and inter-EGFR interactions but is largely independent of EGFR-actin interactions. These results demonstrate that pixel-wise cross-correlation of parameters obtained from different techniques on the same data set enables robust physicochemical parameter estimation and provides biological knowledge that cannot be obtained from sequential measurements.

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Acute symptoms of mild to moderate COVID-19 are highly heterogeneous across individuals and over time

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofab090 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas L Rodebaugh ◽

Madelyn R Frumkin ◽

Angela M Reiersen ◽

Eric J Lenze ◽

Michael S Avidan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Survey Methods ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Clinical Deterioration ◽

Symptom Profiles ◽

Fluctuating Course ◽

The Common ◽

Symptom Changes ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background The symptoms of COVID-19 appear to be heterogenous, and the typical course of these symptoms is unknown. Our objectives were to characterize the common trajectories of COVID-19 symptoms and assess how symptom course predicts other symptom changes as well as clinical deterioration. Methods 162 participants with acute COVID-19 responded to surveys up to 31 times for up to 17 days. Several statistical methods were used to characterize the temporal dynamics of these symptoms. Because nine participants showed clinical deterioration, we explored whether these participants showed any differences in symptom profiles. Results Trajectories varied greatly between individuals, with many having persistently severe symptoms or developing new symptoms several days after being diagnosed. A typical trajectory was for a symptom to improve at a decremental rate, with most symptoms still persisting to some degree at the end of the reporting period. The pattern of symptoms over time suggested a fluctuating course for many patients. Participants who showed clinical deterioration were more likely to present with higher reports of severity of cough and diarrhea. Conclusion The course of symptoms during the initial weeks of COVID-19 is highly heterogeneous and is neither predictable nor easily characterized using typical survey methods. This has implications for clinical care and early-treatment clinical trials. Additional research is needed to determine whether the decelerating improvement pattern seen in our data is related to the phenomenon of patients reporting long-term symptoms, and whether higher symptoms of diarrhea in early illness presages deterioration.

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Longitudinal Patterns of Ethical Organisational Culture as a Context for Leaders’ Well-Being: Cumulative Effects Over 6 Years

Journal of Business Ethics ◽

10.1007/s10551-021-04744-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mari Huhtala ◽

Muel Kaptein ◽

Joona Muotka ◽

Taru Feldt

Keyword(s):

Latent Profile Analysis ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Ethical Dilemmas ◽

Extended Period ◽

Well Being ◽

Organisational Culture ◽

Cumulative Effects ◽

Ethical Culture ◽

Continuous Increase ◽

Over Time

AbstractThe aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the temporal dynamics of ethical organisational culture and how it associates with well-being at work when potential changes in ethical culture are measured over an extended period of 6 years. We used a person-centred study design, which allowed us to detect both typical and atypical patterns of ethical culture stability as well as change among a sample of leaders. Based on latent profile analysis and hierarchical linear modelling we found longitudinal, concurrent relations and cumulative gain and loss cycles between different ethical culture patterns and leaders’ well-being. Leaders in the strongest ethical culture pattern experienced the highest level of work engagement and a decreasing level of ethical dilemmas and stress. Leaders who gave the lowest ratings on ethical culture which also decreased over time reported the highest level of ethical dilemmas, stress, and burnout. They also showed a continuous increase in these negative outcomes over time. Thus, ethical culture has significant cumulative effects on well-being, and these longitudinal effects can be both negative and positive, depending on the experienced strength of the culture’s ethicality.

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520. Longitudinal Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Viruses in Hospitalized Adults

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofaa439.714 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S325-S326

Author(s):

Lacy Simons ◽

Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo ◽

Hannah Nam ◽

Scott C Roberts ◽

Michael G Ison ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Genome Sequencing ◽

Viral Genome ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Population Level ◽

Hospital Staff ◽

Therapeutic Interventions ◽

Viral Loads ◽

Qrt Pcr ◽

Over Time

Abstract Background The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has been accompanied by the emergence of viral mutations, some of which may have distinct virological and clinical consequences. While whole genome sequencing efforts have worked to map this viral diversity at the population level, little is known about how SARS-CoV-2 may diversify within a host over time. This is particularly important for understanding the emergence of viral resistance to therapeutic interventions and immune pressure. The goal of this study was to assess the change in viral load and viral genome sequence within patients over time and determine if these changes correlate with clinical and/or demographic parameters. Methods Hospitalized patients admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test were enrolled in a longitudinal study for the serial collection of nasopharyngeal specimens. Swabs were administered to patients by hospital staff every 4 ± 1 days for up to 32 days or until the patients were discharged. RNA was extracted from each specimen and viral loads were calculated by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). Specimens with qRT-PCR cycle threshold values less than or equal to 30 were subject to whole viral genome sequencing by reverse transcription, multiplex PCR, and deep sequencing. Variant populations sizes were estimated and subject to phylogenetic analysis relative to publicly available SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Sequence and viral load data were subsequently correlated to available demographic and clinical data. Results 60 patients were enrolled from March 26th to June 20th, 2020. We observed an overall decrease in nasopharyngeal viral load over time across all patients. However, the temporal dynamics of viral load differed on a patient-by-patient basis. Several mutations were also observed to have emerged within patients over time. Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in serially collected nasopharyngeal swabs in hospitalized adults as determined by qRT-PCR. Samples were collected every 4 ± 1 days (T#1–8) and viral load is displayed by log(copy number). Conclusion These data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in the nasopharynx decrease over time and that the virus can accumulate mutations during replication within individual patients. Future studies will examine if some of these mutations may provide fitness advantages in the presence of therapeutic and/or immune selective pressures. Disclosures Michael G. Ison, MD MS, AlloVir (Consultant)

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Back in Time for Breakfast: An Analysis of the Changing Breakfast Cereal Aisle

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13020489 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 489

Author(s):

Emilie Croisier ◽

Jaimee Hughes ◽

Stephanie Duncombe ◽

Sara Grafenauer

Keyword(s):

Dietary Fibre ◽

Saturated Fat ◽

Health Claims ◽

Whole Grain ◽

Breakfast Cereal ◽

Full Data ◽

Data Set ◽

Time Points ◽

Total Fat ◽

Over Time

Breakfast cereal improves overall diet quality yet is under constant scrutiny with assertions that the category has not improved over time. This study aimed to comprehensively analyse the category of breakfast cereals, the nutritional values, and health claims across eight distinct sub-categories at four time points (2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020). An audit of products from four major supermarkets in metropolitan Sydney (Aldi, Coles, IGA, and Woolworths) collected ingredient lists, nutrition information, claims and Health Star Rating (HSR) for biscuits and bites; brans; bubbles, puffs, and flakes; granola and clusters; hot cereal flavoured; hot cereal plain; muesli; breakfast biscuits. The median (IQR) were calculated for energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, dietary fibre, and sodium for comparisons over time points by nutrient. Data from 2013 was compared with 2020 (by sub-category and then for a sub-section of common products available at each time point). Product numbers between 2013 (n = 283) and 2020 (n = 543) almost doubled, led by granola and clusters. Whole grain cereals ≥ 8 g/serve made up 67% of products (↑114%). While there were positive changes in nutrient composition over time within the full data set, the most notable changes were in the nutrition composition of cereals marketed as the same product in both years (n = 134); with decreases in mean carbohydrate (2%), sugar (10%) and sodium (16%) (p < 0.000), while protein and total fat increased significantly (p = 0.036; p = 0.021). Claims regarding Dietary Fibre and Whole Grain doubled since 2013. Analysis of sub-categories of breakfast cereal assisted in identifying some changes over time, but products common to both timeframes provided a clearer analysis of change within the breakfast category, following introduction of HSR. Whole grain products were lower in the two target nutrients, sodium and sugars, and well-chosen products represent a better choice within this category.

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Central and peripheral arterial stiffness responses to uninterrupted prolonged sitting combined with a high-fat meal: a randomized controlled crossover trial

Hypertension Research ◽

10.1038/s41440-021-00708-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Simon Fryer ◽

Keeron Stone ◽

Craig Paterson ◽

Meghan Brown ◽

James Faulkner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Cardiovascular Health ◽

Pulse Wave ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽

High Fat ◽

Low Fat ◽

Peripheral Arterial ◽

Fat Meal ◽

Over Time

AbstractIndependently, prolonged uninterrupted sitting and the consumption of a meal high in saturated fats acutely disrupt normal cardiovascular function. Currently, the acute effects of these behaviors performed in combination on arterial stiffness, a marker of cardiovascular health, are unknown. This study sought to determine the effect of consuming a high-fat meal (Δ = 51 g fat) in conjunction with prolonged uninterrupted sitting (180 min) on measures of central and peripheral arterial stiffness. Using a randomized crossover design, 13 young healthy males consumed a high-fat (61 g) or low-fat (10 g) meal before 180 min of uninterrupted sitting. Carotid-femoral (cf) and femoral-ankle (fa) pulse wave velocity (PWV), aortic-femoral stiffness gradient (af-SG), superficial femoral PWV beta (β), and oscillometric pulse wave analysis outcomes were assessed pre and post sitting. cfPWV increased significantly more following the high-fat (mean difference [MD] = 0.59 m·s−1) meal than following the low-fat (MD = 0.2 m·s−1) meal, with no change in faPWV in either condition. The af-SG significantly decreased (worsened) (ηp2 = 0.569) over time in the high- and low-fat conditions (ratio = 0.1 and 0.1, respectively). Superficial femoral PWVβ significantly increased over time in the high- and low-fat conditions (ηp2 = 0.321; 0.8 and 0.4 m·s−1, respectively). Triglycerides increased over time in the high-fat trial only (ηp2 = 0.761). There were no significant changes in blood pressure. Consuming a high-fat meal prior to 180 min of uninterrupted sitting augments markers of cardiovascular disease risk more than consuming a low-fat meal prior to sitting.

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Mapping the Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of Vegetation Response Lag to Drought in a Semi-Arid Region

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11161873 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (16) ◽

pp. 1873 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Li Hua ◽

Huidong Wang ◽

Haigang Sui ◽

Brian Wardlow ◽

Michael J. Hayes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Index ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Risk Mitigation ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Gaussian Function ◽

Drought Risk ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Similar Response ◽

Vegetation Types ◽

Data Set

Drought, as an extreme climate event, affects the ecological environment for vegetation and agricultural production. Studies of the vegetative response to drought are paramount to providing scientific information for drought risk mitigation. In this paper, the spatial-temporal pattern of drought and the response lag of vegetation in Nebraska were analyzed from 2000 to 2015. Based on the long-term Daymet data set, the standard precipitation index (SPI) was computed to identify precipitation anomalies, and the Gaussian function was applied to obtain temperature anomalies. Vegetation anomaly was identified by dynamic time warping technique using a remote sensing Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series. Finally, multilayer correlation analysis was applied to obtain the response lag of different vegetation types. The results show that Nebraska suffered severe drought events in 2002 and 2012. The response lag of vegetation to drought typically ranged from 30 to 45 days varying for different vegetation types and human activities (water use and management). Grasslands had the shortest response lag (~35 days), while forests had the longest lag period (~48 days). For specific crop types, the response lag of winter wheat varied among different regions of Nebraska (35–45 days), while soybeans, corn and alfalfa had similar response lag times of approximately 40 days.

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