RUI: Mechanisms of Surviving Starvation by the Soft Tick, Ornithodoros tuicata

RUI：软蜱 Ornithodoros tuicata 的饥饿生存机制

• 批准号: 9220126
• 负责人: Olushola Adeyeye
• 金额: $ 24.15万
• 依托单位: Duquesne University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1993
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1993-03-01 至 1997-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9220126&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Mechanisms; Surviving; Starvation; Soft

Whereas most invertebrates (animals that lack backbones) live for just a few weeks, ticks typically live for several years. Moreover, one particular group of ticks, the Ornithodoros ticks, can survive for several years without feeding. The proposed research will elucidate the behavioral and physiological means by which these ticks survive long periods of starvation. Ornithodoros ticks are the preeminent transmitters of relapsing fever to human and livestock. They are also the only biological transmitters of the African swine fever, a highly contagious disease against which drugs and vaccine are presently not available. The ability of the Ornithodoros ticks to harbor and transmit disease agents is enhanced by the fact that they feed on a variety of birds, mammals and reptiles. No less significant are their longevity and their ability to survive long periods of starvation. Because these ticks can live for as long as fifteen years without feeding, they are superb reservoirs of many bacterial, protozoan and viral diseases even in the absence of suitable hosts. A better understanding of the mechanisms for this spectacular capability of a physiologically and ecologically rational strategy for their control.

大多数无脊椎动物（缺乏脊椎的动物）只能存活几周，而蜱虫通常可以存活数年。此外，一种特殊的蜱类，Ornithodoros 蜱，可以在不进食的情况下存活数年。拟议的研究将阐明这些蜱虫在长期饥饿中生存的行为和生理手段。 钝缘蜱是人类和牲畜回归热的主要传播者。它们也是非洲猪瘟的唯一生物传播者，非洲猪瘟是一种高度传染性的疾病，目前尚无针对该疾病的药物和疫苗。钝缘蜱以各种鸟类、哺乳动物和爬行动物为食，因此增强了它们藏匿和传播疾病病原体的能力。同样重要的是它们的寿命和长期饥饿的生存能力。由于这些蜱虫在不进食的情况下可以存活长达十五年，因此即使没有合适的宿主，它们也是许多细菌、原生动物和病毒性疾病的极好宿主。更好地理解生理学和生态学上合理的控制策略的这种惊人能力的机制。