DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Elucidating an invasion of the blacklegged tick and the Lyme disease pathogen

景观破碎化、气候变化和全球贸易将不可避免地继续增加物种入侵的速度。 当入侵者是具有医学重要性的物种时，如媒介、病原体或储存宿主，成功的入侵也可能导致疾病的出现。 莱姆病是美国主要的人类病媒传播疾病，病例正在增加，部分原因是黑腿蜱的范围正在扩大。 在过去的五年里，研究小组通过对野外野生动物宿主的调查，追踪了黑腿蜱和莱姆病病原体在密歇根州的活跃入侵，并对这种新出现的威胁发出了预警。 该团队将分析从寻找宿主的蜱虫中收集的病原体的遗传多样性，以推断入侵蜱虫和病原体的地理来源以及它们如何入侵整个景观。这项研究提供了一个模型，用于阐明一种新兴疾病的实时入侵。 更广泛的影响包括帮助地方和区域卫生部门和自然资源机构，因为本文收集的数据将有助于评估疾病风险并提供干预点。 此外，这项研究是密歇根州立大学保护医学新研究专业的创始项目，该专业培养生态学，微生物学，人类医学和兽医学的学生，共同解决影响人类，野生动物和家畜健康的新兴疾病问题。

Landscape fragmentation, climate change, and global trade will inevitably continue to increase the rate of species invasions. When invaders are species of medical importance, such as vectors, pathogens, or reservoir hosts, successful invasion may also result in disease emergence. Lyme disease is the leading vector-borne disease of humans in the United States, and cases are increasing in part due to ongoing range expansions of the blacklegged tick. Over the past five years, the research team has tracked an active invasion of blacklegged ticks and the Lyme disease pathogen in Michigan through investigations of wildlife hosts in the field, and have provided an early warning of this emerging threat. The team will analyze the genetic diversity of the pathogen collected from host-seeking ticks to infer the geographical source of the invading ticks and pathogen as well as how they are invading across the landscape. This research provides a model for elucidating an invasion in real-time of an emerging disease. Broader impacts include aiding local and regional health departments and natural resource agencies, as the data collected herein will allow assessment of disease risk and offer points for intervention. Furthermore, this research is the founding project for Michigan State University's new research specialization in conservation medicine, which trains students in ecology, microbiology, human medicine, and veterinary medicine to work together to solve problems of emerging diseases that impact human, wildlife, and domestic animal health.