EID: Microbial Community Ecology of Tick-Borne Human Pathogens

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The goal of this project is to investigate microbial interactions within ticks and how those interactions affect the prevalence of human pathogens. Ticks are the primary source of infectious disease transmitted by arthropod vectors in the United States, including Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and many other newly-recognized and emerging human diseases. Ticks also carry a variety of non-pathogenic symbiotic bacteria. Most of this microbial diversity has only become apparent with the advent of powerful molecular tools. Preliminary evidence suggests that these symbionts can exclude pathogens, reducing human disease risk. Using molecular genetic methods, the microbial communities of medically-important tick species will be quantified and statistical tests will be applied to test the strength and direction of microbial interactions. In addition, microbial interactions will be incorporated into epidemiological models to determine conditions where microorganisms within ticks interfere with or amplify one another.The results of this research will contribute to a general understanding of how microbial interactions affect pathogen prevalence, disease epidemiology, and human disease risk. This research will also explore new techniques for quantifying pathogen populations and microbial communities, and contribute significantly to scientific education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral levels. Microbial interactions within other arthropod vectors (e.g., mosquitoes, fleas, lice, bugs) are likely to be common, including vectors of an ever-growing list of emerging human diseases and pathogens identified as bioterrorism threats.