Dissertation
THE IMPACT OF IRON REDUCTION ON PREDICTED TICK IRON METABOLISM GENES AND REPLICATION OF THE TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN, ANAPLASMA MARGINALE
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2020
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/118356
Abstract
Obligate intracellular, tick-borne, bacterial pathogens are the causative agents of a range of diseases in animals and humans. Effective strategies to control ticks and tick transmission of pathogens are needed. Transmission of these pathogens occurs during tick feeding on the mammalian host. Ticks solely ingest iron-rich blood, and unlike other hematophagous vectors, the blood meal is digested intracellularly rather than in the midgut lumen. The blood-meal degradation leads to the release of large amounts of heme making the midgut potentially iron-rich environment. Iron is an important nutrient for nearly all organisms. It is a key regulator of interactions between hosts and tick-borne bacterial pathogens. Knowledge gaps remain regarding iron metabolism in ticks, the importance of iron for obligate intracellular tick-borne bacterial pathogen replication, as well as the mechanisms that these pathogens use to acquire iron from tick cells. Addressing these questions will be useful in finding improved methods to control the spread of ticks and their transmitted pathogens. In this study, we first identified and sequenced 13 genes likely to be involved in iron metabolism in Dermacentor andersoni tick cells, the natural vector of many tick-borne pathogens including Anaplasma marginale, the causative agent of bovine anaplasmosis. Next, we measured the transcriptional response of these genes to iron reduction induced by iron chelator 2,2′-bipyridyl. Subsequently, we studied the importance of iron for A. marginale replication within D. andersoni tick cells. We also measured the transcriptional response of three A. marginale genes likely to be involved in iron transport in this pathogen. This study helped us in understanding some aspects regarding iron metabolism in tick and demonstrated that iron is an essential nutrient for A. marginale replication within tick cells. Our findings could be beneficial in developing an anti-tick vaccine and/or anti-A. marginale vaccine through blocking the iron uptake process by the vector or the pathogen.
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Details
- Title
- THE IMPACT OF IRON REDUCTION ON PREDICTED TICK IRON METABOLISM GENES AND REPLICATION OF THE TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN, ANAPLASMA MARGINALE
- Creators
- Muna Salem M. Solyman
- Contributors
- Muna Solyman (Advisor)Susan M. Noh (Committee Member)Kelly A. Brayton (Committee Member)Dana Shaw (Committee Member)Anders Omsland (Committee Member)Glen A Scoles (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- College of Veterinary Medicine
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 89
- Identifiers
- 99900581609301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation