Fig. 1

Microbiome composition of I. scapularis nymphs and larvae. 16S rRNA sequence analysis of microbial communities of A predominant bacterial genera in the midguts of flat uninfected (unfed clean) or B. burgdorferi-infected (unfed infected) and fed uninfected (fed clean) or B. burgdorferi-infected (fed infected) nymphs. B Principal coordinate analysis of weighted UniFrac distances of microbial communities between the groups. C Predominant bacterial genera in unfed larvae raised in normal incubators (N-UF-L) or in germ-free isolators (GF-UF-L) or in fed B. burgdorferi-infected larvae raised in a normal incubator (N-F-Bb) or in germ-free isolate (GF-F-Bb). D Principal coordinate analysis of weighted UniFrac distances of microbial communities between the groups. Statistical significance determined by ANOSIM is indicated within each plot in B and D. Each data point in A and B represents a pool of 5 unfed nymphal midguts or individual fed nymphal midgut. Each data point in B and C represents a pool of 50 unfed larvae or 5 fed larvae