A systems biology approach to infectious disease transmission: linking individuals populations and ecosystems

传染病传播的系统生物学方法：将个体群体和生态系统联系起来

基本信息

批准号：
BB/D020042/1
负责人：
Heather Ferguson
金额：
$ 80.19万
依托单位：
University of Glasgow
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2006
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2006 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FD020042%2F1
关键词：
systems biology approach infectious disease

项目摘要

Did you ever wonder (and wish) that mosquitoes would bite your dog instead of you? Ecological theory tells us that animals should evolve to specialize on diets that most increase their survival and reproduction. In the case of blood-feeding insects, this evolution may explain why some species bite only humans, whereas others prefer domesticated or wild animals. Evidence shows that the survival and reproduction of most blood-feeding insects, including mosquitoes, bed bugs, fleas, and biting flies, depends on the species of vertebrate that they bite. The survival of parasites within these insects, many of whom cause severe disease in humans and animals, is also influenced by vertebrate species choice; with the blood of some animals enhancing parasite growth, and others blocking it. Given this is the case, what would happen if the range of animal hosts available to blood-feeding insects was suddenly changed on a landscape scale, and how would this change impact the spread of human and animal disease? This experiment is occurring in nature, where the variety of animal species available to blood-feeding insects is rapidly changing as human populations expand; reducing the availability of other vertebrates in favour of themselves and their livestock. The downstream impacts of this narrowing of vertebrate species choice are not yet known; particularly with respect to how it will impact the biodiversity and abundance of biting insects, and the spread of the diseases they carry. Understanding how these changes in vertebrate host species composition influence the survival, population growth and parasite transmission potential of biting insects is the central aim of this project. Using this information to formulate and test mathematical models that predict how insect abundance and disease risk will change in response to specific human-induced land-use changes is my ultimate goal. In Africa, a continent inflicted by the world's deadliest insect-borne diseases; changes in land-use practices are starting to take place. Large-scale urbanization and intensive agricultural development are not yet common, but will become increasingly so within the next decade. Thus here more than anywhere, study of the impact of vertebrate species diversity on blood-feeding insects has the potential to provide pre-emptive solutions to detrimental ecological and epidemiological consequences associated with changes in land use. I will conduct a series of novel laboratory analyses, biologically realistic behavioural assays, and intensive field collections in order to test whether the survival and reproduction of the common African mosquitoes Anopheles gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis is influenced by the availability of host species that they prefer (humans and cows) relative to those that are secondary (goats, chickens and dogs). I will test whether the ability of these two mosquito species to compete with one another is determined by the relative abundance of their preferred host species (humans for An. gambiae, and cows for An. arabiensis). Finally I will investigate whether the development of malaria parasites within these mosquitoes is influenced by the type of blood (human, cow, goat, chicken or dog) that they consume when they are infected. Information gathered in the experiments will be used to formulate a mathematical model of mosquito and parasite population growth as a function of host species composition. I will use this model to examine how skewing the composition of vertebrate hosts towards humans (as expected under urbanization), or to a mixture of livestock and humans (as expected under agricultural expansion) will influence mosquito abundance, biodiversity, and malaria transmission intensity. Finally, these models will be fit to actual landscapes within a malaria-endemic region of east Africa to predict how current and forecasted changes in land-use activities could impact Anopheline population dynamics and human health.

您是否曾经想过（并希望）蚊子会咬您的狗而不是您？生态理论告诉我们，动物应该进化成专门研究最能提高其生存和繁殖能力的饮食。就吸血昆虫而言，这种进化可以解释为什么有些物种只咬人类，而其他物种则更喜欢驯养或野生动物。有证据表明，大多数吸血昆虫（包括蚊子、臭虫、跳蚤和叮蝇）的生存和繁殖取决于它们叮咬的脊椎动物种类。这些昆虫体内寄生虫的生存也受到脊椎动物物种选择的影响，其中许多寄生虫会引起人类和动物的严重疾病。一些动物的血液会促进寄生虫的生长，而另一些动物的血液则会阻碍寄生虫的生长。鉴于这种情况，如果吸血昆虫的动物宿主范围在景观尺度上突然发生变化，会发生什么？这种变化将如何影响人类和动物疾病的传播？这项实验发生在自然界中，随着人口的增长，可供吸血昆虫使用的动物种类正在迅速变化。减少其他脊椎动物的可用性，以利于它们自己和它们的牲畜。脊椎动物物种选择范围缩小的下游影响尚不清楚；特别是它将如何影响生物多样性和叮咬昆虫的丰富程度，以及它们所携带疾病的传播。了解脊椎动物宿主物种组成的这些变化如何影响叮咬昆虫的生存、种群增长和寄生虫传播潜力是该项目的中心目标。我的最终目标是利用这些信息来制定和测试数学模型，预测昆虫丰度和疾病风险将如何变化以应对特定的人类引起的土地利用变化。在非洲，这片大陆遭受着世界上最致命的虫媒疾病；土地使用方式开始发生变化。大规模城市化和集约化农业发展尚未普遍，但在未来十年内将变得越来越普遍。因此，在这里，研究脊椎动物物种多样性对吸血昆虫的影响比在任何地方都更有可能为与土地利用变化相关的有害生态和流行病学后果提供先发制人的解决方案。我将进行一系列新颖的实验室分析、生物学上真实的行为分析和密集的现场收集，以测试常见的非洲蚊子冈比亚按蚊的生存和繁殖是否会受到影响。和安。与次要物种（山羊、鸡和狗）相比，阿拉伯树受到它们更喜欢的宿主物种（人类和牛）的可用性的影响。我将测试这两种蚊子相互竞争的能力是否由它们首选宿主物种（冈比亚按蚊为人类，阿拉伯按蚊为牛）的相对丰度决定。最后，我将研究这些蚊子体内疟疾寄生虫的发育是否受到它们感染时所消耗的血液类型（人、牛、山羊、鸡或狗）的影响。实验中收集的信息将用于制定蚊子和寄生虫种群增长与宿主物种组成函数关系的数学模型。我将使用这个模型来研究脊椎动物宿主的组成向人类倾斜（如城市化下的预期），或牲畜和人类的混合（如农业扩张下的预期）将如何影响蚊子丰度、生物多样性和疟疾传播强度。最后，这些模型将适合东非疟疾流行地区的实际景观，以预测土地利用活动的当前和预测变化如何影响按蚊种群动态和人类健康。

项目成果

期刊论文数量（10）

专著数量（0）

科研奖励数量（0）

会议论文数量（0）

专利数量（0）

Establishment of a large semi-field system for experimental study of African malaria vector ecology and control in Tanzania.

在坦桑尼亚建立一个大型半田系统，用于非洲疟疾媒介生态学和控制的实验研究。

DOI：
10.1186/1475-2875-7-158
发表时间：
2008-08-20
期刊：
MALARIA JOURNAL
影响因子：
3
作者：
Ferguson, Heather M.;Ng'habi, Kija R.;Walder, Thomas;Kadungula, Demetrius;Moore, Sarah J.;Lyimo, Issa;Russell, Tanya L.;Urassa, Honorathy;Mshinda, Hassan;Killeen, Gerry F.;Knols, Bart G. J.
通讯作者：
Knols, Bart G. J.

The impact of low erythrocyte density in human blood on the fitness and energetic reserves of the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae.