COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Ecological consequences of the effects of a zoonotic pathogen on its reservoir host

合作研究：人畜共患病原体对其储存宿主影响的生态后果

• 批准号: 1354332
• 负责人: Richard Ostfeld
• 金额: $ 36.99万
• 依托单位: Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-06-01 至 2017-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1354332&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Ecological; consequences; effects

Many infectious diseases of humans are caused by pathogens that are transmitted from wildlife. One important example is Lyme disease, in which the bacterial pathogen lives inside small mammals, such as the white-footed mouse, and is transmitted to people by ticks that first bite an infected mouse and then a person. Human risk of Lyme disease increases with the abundance of white-footed mice. Recent data collected by the investigators suggest that mice infected with the Lyme disease bacterium live, on average, 17% longer than do uninfected mice. This is an unexpected finding, given that the bacterium causes illness in people and other animals. It is important because longer life spans likely result in larger populations of infected mice. How might the bacterium increase life span in mice and what are the consequences for disease transmission to other mammals (including humans) and for the forest ecosystem?This research will experimentally determine the effects of the Lyme bacterium on: (1) mouse survival and abundance; (2) mouse foraging behavior; (3) how commonly mice are bitten by ticks; (4) the rate at which other (non-mouse) hosts for the tick become infected; and (5) the ability of mice to control populations of an exotic forest pest, the gypsy moth. The proposed research will provide both content material and research experiences for the Community Science program at the University of Pennsylvania. This program is designed to increase the understanding of biology by high school teachers in inner-city Philadelphia schools and to expose high school students to scientific research and careers in science. Lyme disease is a common and serious problem for humans in North America and elsewhere. The investigators will develop and test a vaccine to protect mice species from the pathogen that causes the disease. If this vaccine works as expected, it may reduce transmission of the pathogen to humans. Through a carefully designed experiment on wild mice, the investigators will be able to evaluate both the intended and potential unintended consequences of wildlife vaccination.

人类的许多传染病是由野生动物传播的病原体引起的。 一个重要的例子是莱姆病，其中细菌病原体生活在小型哺乳动物（例如白足鼠）体内，并通过蜱虫传播给人类，蜱虫首先叮咬受感染的小鼠，然后叮咬人。随着白足鼠数量的增加，人类患莱姆病的风险也会增加。 研究人员最近收集的数据表明，感染莱姆病细菌的小鼠平均寿命比未感染的小鼠长 17%。 鉴于这种细菌会导致人类和其他动物患病，这是一个意外的发现。这很重要，因为更长的寿命可能会导致更多受感染小鼠的数量。这种细菌如何延长小鼠的寿命？疾病传播给其他哺乳动物（包括人类）和森林生态系统会产生什么后果？这项研究将通过实验确定莱姆细菌对以下方面的影响：（1）小鼠的生存和丰富度; (2)小鼠觅食行为； (3) 老鼠被蜱虫叮咬的频率； (4) 蜱虫的其他（非小鼠）宿主被感染的比率； (5) 小鼠控制外来森林害虫——舞毒蛾种群的能力。 拟议的研究将为宾夕法尼亚大学的社区科学项目提供内容材料和研究经验。 该计划旨在提高费城市中心学校的高中教师对生物学的理解，并使高中生接触科学研究和科学职业。莱姆病是北美和其他地区人类常见且严重的问题。 研究人员将开发并测试一种疫苗，以保护小鼠免受导致该疾病的病原体的侵害。如果这种疫苗按预期发挥作用，可能会减少病原体向人类的传播。 通过对野生小鼠进行精心设计的实验，研究人员将能够评估野生动物疫苗接种的预期和潜在的意外后果。