Integrating population genomics and microbial metagenomics of the lone star tick, an expanding arthropod disease vector

整合孤星蜱（一种不断扩大的节肢动物疾病载体）的群体基因组学和微生物宏基因组学

• 批准号: 10360088
• 负责人: Javier Monzon
• 金额: $ 42.83万
• 依托单位: PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-01 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10360088
• 关键词: Accounting; Affect; Amblyomma; Ambylomma americanum; Area; Arthropods; Biology; Blood; Climate; Communities; DNA sequencing; Disease; Disease Vectors; Domestic Animals; Ehrlichiosis; Etiology; Future; Genetic Variation; Genome; Genomics; Genotype; Geographic Distribution; Geography; Goals; Grant; Health; Heartland virus; Human; Immunologics; Immunology; Individual; Infection; Investigation; Knowledge; Laboratories; Light; Link; Mentors; Metagenomics; Methodology; Microbe; Midwestern United States; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Oklahoma; Older Population; Parasites; Pathogenicity; Population; Population Density; Prevalence; Principal Investigator; Research; Research Infrastructure; Resources; Sampling; Science; Site; South Carolina; Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness; Spatial Distribution; Structure; Testing; Tick-Borne Diseases; Ticks; Training; Tularemia; United States; Universities; Variant; Vector Ecology; Vector-transmitted infectious disease; Virus Diseases; acaricide; career; experience; genetic epidemiology; genomic data; genomic variation; geographic population; innovation; insight; interest; microbial; microbiome; microbiome composition; microorganism; microorganism interaction; next generation; pathogen; pathogenic bacteria; sucking; tick population; tick-borne pathogen; transmission process; undergraduate research; undergraduate student; vector; vector tick; vector-borne pathogen

Integrating population genomics and microbial metagenomics of the lone star tick, an expanding arthropod disease vector PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Ticks are the most important vectors of disease-causing pathogens in the United States. The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, is a competent vector of various pathogenic microorganisms. There are several critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of the basic biology of the lone star tick, an arthropod disease vector that is rapidly expanding its geographic distribution into the Midwest and Northeast. Little is known about how the diversity of the tick’s genome and the microbial diversity of the tick’s microbiome affect the ability of specific pathogens to infect a tick. The main objective of this research is to generate an integrated genetic epidemiology for tick-borne diseases that incorporates the genomic diversity of vector, the species diversity of its microbiome, and the prevalence of known pathogens. The overarching hypothesis is that genomic diversity of tick vectors is positively associated with microbial species diversity and negatively associated with pathogen prevalence. The Principal Investigator will use next-generation DNA sequencing to test the overarching hypothesis and achieve the main objective of this project through three specific aims: (1) Investigate the spatial distribution of genomic variation among populations of lone star tick near the western and northern species range boundaries. The working hypothesis is that a cline of genomic diversity corresponds to increasingly stressful climatic conditions at the edges of the species range, suggesting that range expansion coincides with microevolutionary change. (2) Characterize the microbiome of lone star tick and assess its relationship to host genomic diversity. The working hypothesis is that greater genomic diversity of ticks permits a greater microbial species diversity in ticks, suggesting that host genotype affects microbiome composition. (3) Examine the effects of genomic diversity and microbial diversity on pathogen infection in individual ticks. The working hypothesis is that high genomic and microbial diversity of individual ticks reduces infection by pathogenic bacteria, suggesting that competitive interactions of microbes inside of ticks govern the prevalence of specific tick-borne pathogens at broader scales. This study is innovative because it will (a) uniquely bridge methodologies in population genomics, bacterial metagenomics, and community ecology of vector-borne pathogens; (b) generate genomic data that will be a valuable resource for future investigations of A. americanum and other ticks; and (c) illuminate the importance of accounting for genomic and microbiome diversity in laboratory-reared ticks used in studies of pathogen transmission, host immunology, and acaricides. This study is significant because it will shed light on the microbial interactions within individual ticks that may influence pathogen dynamics. Discovering bacterial lineages or assemblages that competitively inhibit infection by pathogens within ticks will be a significant step in controlling diseases vectored by ticks and other arthropods. Furthermore, this proposed study will enhance the infrastructure for research at Pepperdine University and will provide crucial opportunities to undergraduate students interested in careers in biomedical sciences and vector biology.

整合孤独星形壁虱的种群基因组学和微生物宏基因组学，这是不断扩展的 节肢动物疾病载体 项目摘要/摘要 壁虱是美国最重要的致病病原体载体。孤星tick， Amblyomma Americanum是各种致病微生物的合格载体。有几个 批判性知识差距在我们对孤独之星壁虱的基本生物学的理解中，一种节肢动物疾病 向量正在迅速将其地理分布扩展到中西部和东北。对 tick的基因组的多样性和壁虱微生物组的微生物多样性如何影响 特定的病原体感染tick。这项研究的主要目的是生成综合通用 tick传播疾病的流行病学结合了载体的基因组多样性，物种多样性 它的微生物组和已知病原体的患病率。总体假设是基因组多样性 tick矢量的构成与微生物物种的多样性呈正相关，并且与病原体负相关 流行率。主要研究者将使用下一代DNA测序来测试总体 假设并通过三个特定目的实现该项目的主要目标：（1）研究空间 在西部和北部物种范围附近孤独星形壁虱种群中基因组变异的分布 边界。工作假设是基因组多样性的支架对应于日益压力 物种范围边缘处的气候条件，表明范围扩展与 微进化变化。 （2）表征孤独星形壁虱的微生物组，并评估其与宿主的关系 基因组多样性。工作假设是，壁虱的较大基因组多样性允许更大的微生物 壁虱中的物种多样性表明宿主基因型会影响微生物组组成。 （3）检查效果 基因组多样性和微生物多样性在单个壁虱中感染的病原体感染。工作假设是 单个壁虱的高基因组和微生物多样性减少了病原细菌的感染，这表明 tick中微生物的竞争性相互作用控制了特定的tick传播病原体的流行 在更广泛的尺度上。这项研究具有创新性，因为它将（a）人口中的唯一桥梁方法 基因组学，细菌宏基因组学和媒介传播病原体的社区生态学； （b）产生基因组 对于A. americanum和其他tick的未来投资的数据，这将是宝贵的资源； （c）照明 在研究中使用的基因组和微生物组多样性的重要性 病原体传播，宿主免疫学和急经剂。这项研究很重要，因为它会熄灭 在可能影响病原体动力学的单个壁虱中的微生物相互作用上。发现细菌 tick中病原体感染的谱系或组合将是重要的一步 控制tick虫和其他节肢动物曲线的疾病。此外，这项拟议的研究将增强 Pepperdine University的研究基础设施，并将为本科提供至关重要的机会 对生物医学和媒介生物学职业感兴趣的学生。