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Fleas as hosts and vectors of bacteria
Hovorková, Jana ; Hammerbauerová, Iva (advisor) ; Myslivcová Fučíková, Alena (referee)
Fleas (Siphonaptera) are worldwide significant ectoparasites and vectors of several human pathogens. The most serious flea-born infections include plague, rickettsiosis and bartonellosis caused by Yersinia pestis, Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. I have focused on the microbiome of fleas with an emphasis on bacteria which are transmitted by fleas or are pathogenic, mutualistic or commensal in relation to their flea host, from the point of view of their mutual interactions. The composition of the flea microbiome can be influenced both by mutual interactions between individual bacteria and by many different factors, which include, for example, the species or gender of flea or its host, humidity and temperature of the environment or geographic location.
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