diff --git a/R/theme-defaults.r b/R/theme-defaults.r
index f84800cf72..23346ba4d2 100644
--- a/R/theme-defaults.r
+++ b/R/theme-defaults.r
@@ -177,7 +177,8 @@ theme_minimal <- function(base_size = 12, base_family = "") {
       panel.background  = element_blank(),
       panel.border      = element_blank(),
       strip.background  = element_blank(),
-      plot.background   = element_blank()
+      plot.background   = element_blank(),
+      axis.ticks        = element_blank()
     )
 }