Hyalomma dromedarii Raw sequence reads
The camel tick, Hyalomma dromedarii, is a prominent ectoparasite in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, critically impacting camel health and acting as a vector for tick-borne pathogens. Despite prior studies on its microbiota, the effects of geographic origin and gender on microbial community structure and functional stability remain poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, we characterized the bacterial microbiota of Hy. dromedarii ticks from camels in Tunisia and Saudi Arabia using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, microbial network analysis and metabolic pathway prediction. Our findings indicate a dominant presence of Francisella endosymbionts in Tunisian ticks, suggesting adaptive rolesof Hy. dromedarii ticks in arid ecosystems. Keystone taxa, particularly Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, were identified as central to microbial network structure and resilience. Moreover, network robustness analyses demonstrated enhanced ecological stability in the Tunisian tick microbiota under perturbation, indicative of higher resilience to environmental fluctuations. Additionally, functional pathway predictions further revealed geographically distinct metabolic profiles between both groups (Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia and males vs. females), underscoring environmental and biological influences on Hy. dromedarii microbiota assembly. These results provide insights into region-specific and gender-specific microbial adaptations and potential implications for pathogen transmission dynamics and vector resilience