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

大多数无脊椎动物(没有脊椎的动物)只能活几周，而扁虱通常能活几年。此外，有一种特殊的硬体动物--鸟形目硬体动物--可以在不觅食的情况下存活数年。这项拟议的研究将阐明这些扁虱在长期饥饿中生存的行为和生理方式。壁虱是人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，这是一种高度传染性的疾病，目前还没有针对这种疾病的药物和疫苗。由于以各种鸟类、哺乳动物和爬行动物为食，鸟形纲动物扁虱携带和传播病原体的能力得到了增强。同样重要的是它们的寿命和它们在长期饥饿中生存的能力。因为这些扁虱可以在没有食物的情况下存活长达15年，即使在没有合适的宿主的情况下，它们也是许多细菌、原生动物和病毒疾病的极好宿主。更好地理解这种壮观的能力的机制，并采取一种生理和生态上合理的控制策略。

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.