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.

整合孤星蜱的群体基因组学和微生物宏基因组学，一个不断扩大的群体 节肢动物疾病载体 项目概要/摘要 蜱是美国致病病原体最重要的媒介。 美洲钝圆虫（Amblyomma americanum）是多种病原微生物的有效载体。 我们对孤星蜱（一种节肢动物疾病）的基础生物学的理解存在关键知识差距 其地理分布正在迅速扩展到中西部和东北部，对此我们知之甚少。 蜱虫基因组的多样性和蜱虫微生物组的微生物多样性如何影响 感染蜱的特定病原体 这项研究的主要目的是产生一个整合的基因。 蜱传疾病的流行病学，结合了载体的基因组多样性、蜱传疾病的物种多样性 其微生物组以及已知病原体的流行情况总体假设是基因组多样性。 蜱虫载体的数量与微生物物种多样性呈正相关，与病原体呈负相关 首席研究员将使用下一代 DNA 测序来测试总体情况。 假设并通过三个具体目标实现该项目的主要目标：（1）调查空间 西部和北部物种范围附近孤星蜱种群的基因组变异分布 有效的假设是，基因组多样性的谱系对应于越来越大的压力。 物种范围边缘的气候条件，表明范围扩张与 (2) 表征孤星蜱的微生物组并评估其与宿主的关系。 工作假设是蜱的基因组多样性越高，微生物就越多。 蜱的物种多样性，表明宿主基因型影响微生物组组成 (3) 检查影响。 基因组多样性和微生物多样性对个体蜱病原体感染的影响的工作假设是。 个体蜱虫的高基因组和微生物多样性减少了病原菌的感染，这表明 蜱虫体内微生物的竞争性相互作用控制着特定蜱传病原体的流行 这项研究具有创新性，因为它将 (a) 以独特的方式在人口研究中架起桥梁。 (b) 产生媒介传播病原体的基因组学、细菌宏基因组学和群落生态学； 数据将成为未来研究美洲蜱和其他蜱的宝贵资源；(c) 阐明； 考虑用于研究的实验室饲养蜱的基因组和微生物组多样性的重要性 这项研究意义重大，因为它将揭示病原体传播、宿主免疫学和杀螨剂。 关于可能影响病原体动力学的个体蜱虫内的微生物相互作用。 竞争性抑制蜱内病原体感染的谱系或组合将是迈出的重要一步 此外，这项拟议的研究将加强对蜱虫和其他节肢动物传播的疾病的控制。 佩珀代因大学的研究基础设施将为本科生提供重要的机会 对生物医学科学和载体生物学职业感兴趣的学生。