Thermal cycler for molecular parasitological studies

对病媒传播疾病的进化生态学，即生态和历史相互作用以及病媒及其所含病原体的种群遗传结构的变化缺乏了解。蜱是北美最重要的人类传染病媒介，并负责将病原体传播给家畜和野生动物。这些病媒在加拿大分布范围的扩大对人类和动物健康构成了更大的威胁。在加拿大至少有30种蜱虫物种，但对于大多数物种，我们对其细菌群落知之甚少，其中包括非寄生物种（内共生体）。在接下来的几年里，我和我的学生将继续使用现代分子技术，对蜱虫和细菌的种群遗传结构进行创新和令人兴奋的研究项目。然而，由于重大电气故障，执行PCR和基于PCR的分析所需的重要设备（热循环仪）需要更换。获得更换热循环仪的资金将使我们能够检查蜱虫种群和不同细菌菌株的遗传结构的时空变化，并探索不同基因型/菌株的生物体的地理分布（即它们的地理分布模式）。详细了解种群遗传学，以及蜱及其相关细菌的共同进化和cophylogeographic关系，可以了解病媒传播疾病流行病学中的异常现象，否则可能无法解释。我们的研究结果将为影响寄生虫和细菌种群遗传结构的生态和进化因素提供关键见解，并提供有关媒介传播疾病种群动态的关键信息。因此，这些调查结果将为政府组织（如PHAC和CFIA）提供大量信息，这些组织制定了旨在控制病媒传播疾病的政策和管理战略。因此，我们的工作对加拿大人的公共卫生和社会经济具有重要意义。

There is a lack of knowledge regarding the evolutionary ecology of vector-borne diseases, that is, the ecological and historical interactions, and changes in the population genetic structure of the vectors, and of the pathogens they contain. Ticks are the most important vectors of human infectious diseases in North America, and are responsible for transmitting pathogenic agents to domestic animals and wildlife. Expansion of the distributional ranges of these vectors in Canada poses an increased threat to human and animal health. At least 30 tick species occur in Canada, yet for most species, we know very little of their bacterial communities, which includes non-parasitic species (endosymbionts). Over the next few years, my students and I will continue to use modern molecular techniques to conduct innovative and exciting research projects on the population genetic structure of ticks and bacteria. However, a vital piece of equipment (a thermal cycler) needed to perform PCR and PCR-based analyses needs to be replaced due to a major electrical fault. Obtaining funds for a replacement thermal cycler will permit us to examine the spatial and temporal changes in the genetic structure of tick populations and of different bacterial strains, and to explore the geographical distribution of the different genotypes/strains of organism (i.e. their phylogeographic patterns). Detailed knowledge of the population genetics, and of the coevolutionary and cophylogeographic relationships of ticks their associated bacteria, permits an understanding of anomalies in the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, that might otherwise go unexplained. Our findings will provide key insights into the ecological and evolutionary factors influencing the population genetic structure of parasites and bacteria, and provide critical information on the population dynamics of vector-borne diseases. These findings will therefore be highly informative for Government organizations (e.g. PHAC & CFIA) that create policies and instigate management strategies aimed at the control of vector-borne diseases. Thus, our work is of significant public health and socio-economic importance to Canadians.