DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Variation in tick host preference and its epidemiological impact

蜱虫以许多不同的宿主物种为食，包括人类。在这样做的同时，它们可以感染和传播传染病，但目前尚不清楚是哪种宿主和哪种蜱推动了蜱传疾病的流行。这项研究的重点是沙菲埃利希菌（Ehrlichia chaffeensis），这种细菌由孤星蜱（Lone Star tick）携带，已知会导致人类疾病，并感染白尾鹿。孤星蜱也以其他多种物种为食，包括浣熊和弗吉尼亚负鼠，它们在沙非伊蚊爆发中的作用尚不清楚。这个项目的目的是提高我们对沙非蜱多宿主传播的理解，特别关注蜱是如何选择它们的宿主的。本项目将结合蜱的行为实验、蜱的遗传变异研究和疾病传播的数学模型，确定蜱的摄食偏好和宿主物种的多样性如何促进沙非伊蚊的传播。这项工作与公共卫生和野生动物管理有关，并可能导致制定有效的蜱传疾病预防和控制策略。一些实地工作将在国家和联邦拥有的土地上进行，调查结果将与这些财产的管理者分享。几名本科生将参与这项研究，并将接受尖端分子实验室技术的培训，这将加强他们的学习并推进该项目的目标。

Ticks feed on many different host species, including humans. While doing so, they can contract and spread infectious diseases but it remains unclear which hosts and which ticks drive the prevalence of tick-borne diseases. This research focuses on the bacterium, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, which is carried by the Lone Star tick and is known to cause disease in humans and to infect white-tailed deer. Lone Star ticks also feed on a variety of other species, including raccoons and Virginia opossums, whose role in E. chaffeensis outbreaks is unclear. The aim of this project is to advance our understanding of the multi-host transmission of E. chaffeensis, with a particular focus on how ticks choose their hosts. Using a combination of experiments on tick behavior, studies of tick genetic variation, and mathematical modeling of disease transmission, this project will identify how tick feeding preferences and the variety of host species contribute to the spread of E. chaffeensis. This work is relevant to public health and wildlife management, and may lead to the development of effective tick-borne disease prevention and control strategies. Some of the field work will be conducted on state- and federally-owned land, and the findings will be shared with the managers of these properties. Several undergraduate students will participate in the research, and will be trained in cutting-edge molecular laboratory techniques that will both enhance their studies and advance the goals of this project.