Thesis
Effects of a broad-spectrum antibiotic on the bacterial microbiome of the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, Dermacentor andersoni
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102736
Abstract
In North America, ticks are the most economically impactful vectors of pathogens. The Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni (Acari: Ixodidae), vectors Rocky Mountain spotted fever and bovine anaplasmosis to humans and cattle, respectively. Research aimed at discovering novel approaches to prevent transmission of these and other tick-borne diseases drive this research. In recent years, studies have shown that symbiotic organisms are involved in a number of biochemical and physiological functions. Characterizing the bacterial microbiome of D. andersoni is an important step towards understanding the interactions between symbionts and their tick host. In this study, we have shown by high-throughput sequence analysis that the composition and proportion of total sequence reads of the predominant endosymbionts present in the midgut and salivary glands in adult ticks is dynamic over three generations. Exposure to the broad-spectrum antibiotic, oxytetracycline, both affected proportions of predominant genera and significantly reduced reproductive fitness. Four Proteobacteria genera, Rickettsia, Francisella, Arsenophonus, and Acinetobacter, were identified as predominant symbionts in these two tissues. Colonization of both midgut and salivary glands in untreated ticks two generations after the study began and in treated adult ticks one generation after antibiotic v exposure by the free-living ubiquitous microbe, Acinetobacter, suggests symbiont populations may be susceptible to environmental stressors. This is the first study that aims to characterize the bacterial microbiome in D. andersoni, to determine its stability or variability over time, and to what extent antibiotic exposure has on reproductive fitness.
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Details
- Title
- Effects of a broad-spectrum antibiotic on the bacterial microbiome of the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, Dermacentor andersoni
- Creators
- Katie Adele Clayton
- Contributors
- Kelly A. Brayton (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Molecular Biosciences, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525093401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis