Thesis
MICRO-CT ANALYSIS OF TICK MORPHOLOGY AND ORGAN DEVELOPMENT IN TICKS INFECTED WITH BABESIA PARASITES
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2026
Abstract
This study allows the quantification of tick organs previously unable to be measured by dissection. It makes the positioning of the organs within the tick’s body visible. Using the Quantum GX-2 micro-CT, infected and uninfected replete R. microplus female ticks were imaged. The intention was to track their detectable organ development across a series of days with infected and uninfected ticks. The infections were B. bovis and B. bigemina, both of which affect cattle and meat production and are carried by R. microplus ticks. The ticks were collected within 24 hours of repletion from the University of Idaho and placed into an incubator at 26°C and 93% humidity. The B. bovis, B. bigemina, and uninfected ticks were placed in a Phosphotungstic acid (PTA) solution from days 0 to 9. They imaged in a micro-CT after 21 days and imaged using 30kV and 180μA for 57 minutes each. This created a set of TIF files, and they were processed using Dragonfly 3D. From here the respiratory tracts, ovaries, and rectal sacs were made into regions of interest (ROIs) by segmentation of the slices. T-tests and ANOVA were run on the volume percentages collected. On all significant results post-hoc analysis was ran. It was found that between the infections, the ovary size with respect to the day and infection type shows statistical significance. The respiratory track and rectal sac size shows significance for their differences in B. bigemina infection. H. longicornis ticks were imaged and processed minimally for proof of concept. It was found that the cuticle thickness (H. longicornis ticks have a thicker cuticle than R. microplus) makes little difference in the method and can be used for other ticks.
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Details
- Title
- MICRO-CT ANALYSIS OF TICK MORPHOLOGY AND ORGAN DEVELOPMENT IN TICKS INFECTED WITH BABESIA PARASITES
- Creators
- Layla Abrams
- Contributors
- Scott P Beckman (Advisor)Massaro Ueti (Committee Member)Yuehe Lin (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 82
- Identifiers
- 99901391906501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis