Bacterially-Based Immune Challenges And Trauma Elicit Terminal Investment In Male Aedes Aegypti, Molly K. Schumacher

Theses and Dissertations

Investment in life history traits such as immune function and reproduction is constrained by finite available resources. A cost-of-immunity trade-off may occur in response to infection when resources are diverted away from reproductive effort and into an immune response. Alternatively, an infected individual may enhance reproductive effort to maximize terminal reproductive success in response to the survival threat inherent to infection (terminal investment). We measured male Aedes aegypti reproductive behavior following inoculations with: living bacteria; killed bacteria as an immune elicitor; and a sham control. Mating competitiveness relative to naïve males was also determined through a binary mate choice experiment …

In Vitro And In Vivo Evaluation Of Infestation Deterrents Against Lice, Kyong-Sup Yoon, Jennifer K. Ketzis, Samuel W. Andrewes, Christopher S. Wu, Kris Honraet, Dorien Staljanssens, Bart Rossel, J Marshall Clark

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

The human head louse is a cosmopolitan ectoparasite and frequently infests many people, particularly school-age children. Due to widespread pyrethroid resistance and the lack of efficient resistance management, there has been a considerable interest in the protection of uninfested people and prevention of reinfestation by disrupting lice transfer. In this study, two nonclinical model systems (in vitro and in vivo) were used to determine the efficacy of the infestation deterrents, Elimax lotion and Elimax shampoo, against human head lice or poultry chewing lice, respectively. With in vitro assessments, female head lice exhibited significantly higher avoidance responses to hair tufts treated …

Phylogeny And Diversity Of Entamoeba In Cockroaches, With An Emphasis On Periplaneta Americana, Mustafa Husain Fakhri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the parasitic Amoebozoan Entamoeba histolytica has been well-studied for its role in human pathogenesis, the biodiversity of invertebrate-inhabiting Entamoeba has scarcely been investigated. Using molecular methods, I searched for Entamoeba in the guts of cockroaches from four of the six Blattodean families. Entamoeba small-subunit rRNA genes were recovered from all eight species of cockroaches tested, five of which represent newly discovered hosts. Phylogenetic analysis of over 190 sequences revealed a novel and highly diverse clade of cockroach-inhabiting Entamoeba, separate from the clade predominated by vertebrate-inhabitants. These results double the known genetic diversity of Entamoeba and suggest that they may …

Evolution Of Hematophagous Habit In Triatominae (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), Fernando Otálora-Luna, Antonio J. Pérez-Sánchez, Claudia Sandoval, Elis Aldana

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

All members of Triatominae subfamily (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), potential vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of the Chagas disease, feed on blood. Through evolution, these bugs have fixed special morphological, physiological, and behavioral aptations (adaptations and exaptations) adequate to feed on blood. Phylogeny suggests that triatomines evolved from predator reduvids which in turn descended from phytophagous hemipterans. Some pleisiomorphic traits developed by the reduvid ancestors of the triatomines facilitated and modeled hematophagy in these insects. Among them, mouthparts, saliva composition, enzymes, and digestive symbionts are the most noticeable. However, the decisive step that allowed the shift from predation to hematophagy …

Prehistoric Earth Oven Facilities And The Pathoecology Of Chagas Disease In The Lower Pecos Canyonlands, Karl Reinhard, Adauto Araujo

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding the endemic region of a disease is part of developing a concept of the disease’s natural history and its threat to human health in both ancient and modern times. Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and has recently been identified as an emergent disease in North America. Ancient endemicity and reemergence has been demonstrated by an examination of a mummy found on the border between Coahuila, Mexico and Texas, USA. This mummified man, who died over 1000 years ago, exhibits the gross pathology of megacolon, which is consistent with Chagas disease. We are now exploring the …

Transcriptome Of The Female Synganglion Of The Black-Legged Tick Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) With Comparison Between Illumina And 454 Systems, Noble Egekwu, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Brooke W. Bissinger, R. Michael Roe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Illumina and 454 pyrosequencing were used to characterize genes from the synganglion of female Ixodes scapularis. GO term searching success for biological processes was similar for samples sequenced by both methods. However, for molecular processes, it was more successful for the Illumina samples than for 454 samples. Functional assignments of transcripts predicting neuropeptides, neuropeptide receptors, neurotransmitter receptors and other genes of interest was done, supported by strong e-values (<-6), and high consensus sequence alignments. Transcripts predicting 15 putative neuropeptide prepropeptides ((allatostatin, allatotropin, bursicon α, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), CRF-binding protein, eclosion hormone, FMRFamide, glycoprotein A, insulin-like peptide, ion transport peptide, myoinhibitory peptide, inotocin ( = neurophysin-oxytocin), Neuropeptide F, sulfakinin and SIFamide)) and transcripts predicting receptors for 14 neuropeptides (allatostatin, calcitonin, cardioacceleratory peptide, corazonin, CRF, eclosion hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone/AKH-like, insulin-like peptide, neuropeptide F, proctolin, pyrokinin, SIFamide, sulfakinin and tachykinin) are reported. Similar to Dermacentor variabilis, we found transcripts matching pro-protein convertase, essential for converting neuropeptide hormones to their mature form. Additionally, transcripts predicting 6 neurotransmitter/neuromodulator receptors (acetylcholine, GABA, dopamine, glutamate, octopamine and …

Bolivian Ectoparasites: A Survey Of The Fleas Of Ctenomys (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae), Elisa Pucu De Araujo, Scott L. Gardner, Marcela Lareschi

Papers in Parasitology

We present the results of a multiyear survey of the fleas from ctenomyid rodents across many different habitats from throughout Bolivia. New species records for Bolivia include Tiamastus palpalis and Ectinorus (Panallius) galeanus. New records of fleas from Ctenomys in Bolivia include Gephyropsylla klagesi, Sphinctopsylla inca, and Tetrapsyllus tristis.

Bolivian Ectoparasites: A Survey Of The Fleas Of Ctenomys (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae), Elisa Pucu De Araujo, Marcela Lareschi, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We present the results of a multiyear survey of the fleas from ctenomyid rodents across many different habitats from throughout Bolivia. New species records for Bolivia include Tiamastus palpalis and Ectinorus (Panallius) galeanus. New records of fleas from Ctenomys in Bolivia include Gephyropsylla klagesi, Sphinctopsylla inca, and Tetrapsyllus tristis.

The Biology And Taxonomy Of Head And Body Lice: Implications For Louse-Borne Disease Prevention, Denise L. Bonilla, Lance A. Durden, Marina E. Eremeeva, Gregory A. Dasch

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura) are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites of placental mammals including humans. Worldwide, more than 550 species have been described and many are specific to a particular host species of mammal. Three taxa uniquely parasitize humans: the head louse, body louse, and crab (pubic) louse. The body louse, in particular, has epidemiological importance because it is a vector of the causative agents of three important human diseases: epidemic typhus, trench fever, and louse-borne relapsing fever. Since the advent of antibiotics and more effective body louse control measures in the 1940s, these diseases have markedly diminished in incidence. However, due …

Ectoparasites Of The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis Virginiana), Raccoon (Procyon Lotor), And Striped Skunk (Mephitis Mephitis) From Keith County, Nebraska, Lance A. Durden, Dennis J. Richardson

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Six Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), nine raccoons (Procyon lotor) and one striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) collected from Keith County Nebraska were examined for ectoparasites. All three host species were parasitized by adults of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. Opossums were also parasitized by the flea Pulex simulans and the tiny fur mite Didelphilichus serri­fer; the latter species represents a new state record for Nebraska. Raccoons were also parasitized by P. simulans and by the lago­morph-associated flea Euhoplopsyllus glacialis affinis, whereas the skunk was also parasitized by the chewing louse Neotrichodectes …

Evolutionary History Of Assassin Bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Reduviidae): Insights From Divergence Dating And Ancestral State Reconstruction, Wei Song Hwang, Christiane Weirauch

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Assassin bugs are one of the most successful clades of predatory animals based on their species numbers (~ 6,800 spp.) and wide distribution in terrestrial ecosystems. Various novel prey capture strategies and remarkable prey specializations contribute to their appeal as a model to study evolutionary pathways involved in predation. Here, we reconstruct the most comprehensive reduviid phylogeny (178 taxa, 18 subfamilies) to date based on molecular data (5 markers). This phylogeny tests current hypotheses on reduviid relationships emphasizing the polyphyletic Reduviinae and the blood-feeding, diseasevectoring Triatominae, and allows us, for the first time in assassin bugs, to reconstruct ancestral states …

Influence Of Detritus Levels And Organic Pollution On Interspecific Resource Competition, Oviposition Behavior, And Larval Survival Of Two Tire-Inhabiting Mosquito Species (Diptera: Culicidae), David Wayne Allgood

Master's Theses

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are vectors of disease in the adult stage, but understanding the factors affecting distributions of the immature stages is important to the understanding and control of adult populations. Discarded automobile tires comprise important larval mosquito habitats. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) are two medically important species commonly found in tires, but factors affecting their larval distributions in tires have not been studied, nor have their interspecific interactions. I investigated the effects of chemicals associated with organic pollution on oviposition preferences and larval survival of both …

Large-Scale Use Of Mosquito Larval Source Management For Malaria Control In Africa: A Cost Analysis, Eve Worrall, Ulrike Fillinger

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: At present, large-scale use of two malaria vector control methods, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) is being scaled up in Africa with substantial funding from donors. A third vector control method, larval source management (LSM), has been historically very successful and is today widely used for mosquito control globally, except in Africa. With increasing risk of insecticide resistance and a shift to more exophilic vectors, LSM is now under re-evaluation for use against afro-tropical vector species. Here the costs of this intervention were evaluated. Methods. The 'ingredients approach' was used to estimate the economic and …

Heartworm In Canines: Trends In Rhode Island Shelter Populations, Kelsey L. Mckenna

Senior Honors Projects

Heartworm in Canines

Kelsey McKenna

Faculty Sponsor: Darlene Jones, DVM, Animal Science

Each year thousands of dogs in the United States become infected with heartworm, which is caused by Dirofilaria immitis. D. immitis is a parasite that is transmitted to dogs via a bite by an infected mosquito. Nine of the seventy competent mosquito species reside in Rhode Island. The true incidence of D. immitis is unknown. Current incidence maps are derived from data generated at veterinary clinics and do not include shelter dogs. The objective of this study is twofold: to determine the prevalence of D. immitis in …

Isolation By Distance Explains Genetic Structure Of Buggy Creek Virus, A Bird-Associated Arbovirus, Abinash Padhi, Amy T. Moore, Mary Bomberger Brown, Jerome E. Foster, Martin Pfeffer, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Many of the arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) show extensive genetic variability and are widely distributed over large geographic areas. Understanding how virus genetic structure varies in space may yield insight into how these pathogens are adapted to and dispersed by different hosts or vectors, the relative importance of mutation, drift, or selection in generating genetic variability, and where and when epidemics or epizootics are most likely to occur. However, because most arboviruses tend to be sampled opportunistically and often cannot be isolated in large numbers at a given locale, surprisingly little is known about their spatial genetic structure on the local …

Western Australia's Biosecurity, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Department Of Environment And Conservation, Western Australia, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia, Forest Products Commission, Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

Biosecurity is the protection of the economy, environment and human health from the negative impacts of pests, weeds and diseases, including the management of invasive species if they become established (definition adopted by AusBIOSEC).

This requires steps to prevent the entry of harmful organisms, as well as the timely and efficient management of them if they do enter.

Biosecurity threats range from catastrophic diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease, which causes rapid and widespread animal deaths, to more subtle and slower spreading problems such as invasive weeds, mussels that foul vessel hulls and fungus-induced dieback disease of trees. These …

Winter Ecology Of Buggy Creek Virus (Togaviridae, Alphavirus) In The Central Great Plains, Charles R. Brown, Stephanie A. Strickler, Amy T. Moore, Sarah A. Knutie, Abinash Padhi, Mary Bomberger Brown, Ginger R. Young, Valerie A. O'Brien, Jerome E. Foster, Nicholas Komar

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A largely unanswered question in the study of arboviruses is the extent to which virus can overwinter in adult vectors during the cold winter months and resume the transmission cycle in summer. Buggy Creek virus (BCRV; Togaviridae, Alphavirus) is an unusual arbovirus that is vectored primarily by the swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius) and amplified by the ectoparasitic bug’s main avian hosts, the migratory cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and resident house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Bugs are sedentary and overwinter in the swallows’ mud nests. We evaluated the prevalence of BCRV and extent of …

Ecological Interactions Between Spiders And The Purple Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia Purpurea, Marc Aaron Milne

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Spiders and harvestmen are commonly captured by or reside upon the carnivorous purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. Although spiders and harvestmen are often known to be prey of S. purpurea, other ecological interactions between these arthropods and the plant are poorly understood. Studies were undertaken at three pitcher plant populations, two in Virginia and one in North Carolina, to assess the ecological relationships between spiders and harvestmen and S. purpurea. Multiple plots containing pitcher plants (treatment) and plots lacking pitcher plants (control) were created at these locations. Spiders and harvestmen were collected through five different techniques. Spatial, …

Bromeliads As A Breeding Site For The Dengue Vector Aedes Aegypti, Eva B. Shultis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Dengue Fever is a major public health concern in tropical and subtropical climates worldwide, including the city of Cairns, Australia, which is currently suffering a severe outbreak. The most important vector of the Dengue virus is the predominantly urban mosquito Aedes aegypti (L.), which lays its eggs in both artificial and natural containers, including the ornamental bromeliad plants found in many household gardens. The ability of larvae to develop to adulthood inside bromeliads has become controversial, however, and bromeliad enthusiasts frequently refuse to have their plants treated with insecticide. The aim of this study was to determine the conditions under …

Ecological Niche Of The 2003 West Nile Virus Epidemic In The Northern Great Plains Of The United States, Michael Wimberly, Michael B. Hildreth, Stephen P. Boyte, Erik Lindquist, Lon Kightlinger

United States Public Health Resources

Background: The incidence of West Nile virus (WNv) has remained high in the northern Great Plains compared to the rest of the United States. However, the reasons for the sustained high risk of WNv transmission in this region have not been determined. To assess the environmental drivers of WNv in the northern Great Plains, we analyzed the county-level spatial pattern of human cases during the 2003 epidemic across a seven-state region.
Methodology/Principal Findings: County-level data on WNv cases were examined using spatial cluster analysis, and were used to fit statistical models with weather, climate, and land use variables as predictors. …

Experimental Inoculation Of House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus) With Buggy Creek Virus, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Amy T. Moore, Nicholas A. Panella, Eric A. Edwards, Mary Bomberger Brown, Nicholas Komar, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We performed experimental inoculations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) with Buggy Creek virus (BCRV), a poorly known alphavirus (Togaviridae) vectored primarily by the swallow bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae: Oeciacus vicarius) that is an ectoparasite of the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow. Viremias were detected by plaque assay in two of six birds on days 1–3 postinoculation; viremia was highest on day 2. Viral RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in blood of six of 12 birds ranging from day 1 to day 15 postinoculation. Infectious BCRV was detected in …

Using Rna Interference To Determine The Role Of Varisin In The Innate Immune System Of The Hard Tick Dermacentor Variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae)., Wayne L. Hynes, Martha M. Stokes, Shannon M. Hensley, S. Michelle Todd, Daniel E. Sonenshine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Defensins are an important component of the innate immune system of ticks. These small peptides are produced by various genera of ticks, and expressed in various tissues. In this study we used RNA interference to silence the expression of the defensin varisin produced by the hemocytes of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. Ticks were injected with double stranded varisin RNA prior to being placed on a rabbit. After feeding, the ticks were removed, bled, and the hemolymph plasma and hemocytes separated. Hemocytes were screened for the presence (or absence) of both varisin transcript and peptide. Varisin peptide was …

Silencing Expression Of The Defensin, Varisin, In Male Dermacentor Variabilis By Rna Interference Results In Reduced Anaplasma Marginale Infections, Katherine M. Kocan, Jose De La Fuente, Raul Manzano-Roman, Victoria Naranjo, Wayne L. Hynes, Daniel E. Sonenshine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Antimicrobial peptides, including defensins, are components of the innate immune system in ticks that have been shown to provide protection against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Varisin, one of the defensins identified in Dermacentor variabilis, was shown to be produced primarily in hemocytes but transcript levels were also expressed in midguts and other tick cells. In this research, we studied the role of varisin in the immunity of ticks to the gram-negative cattle pathogen, Anaplasma marginale. Expression of the varisin gene was silenced by RNA interference (RNAi) in which male ticks were injected with varisin dsRNA and then …

Bird Movement Predicts Buggy Creek Virus Infection In Insect Vectors, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Amy T. Moore, Nicholas Komar

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Predicting the spatial foci of zoonotic diseases is a major challenge for epidemiologists and disease ecologists. Migratory birds are often thought to be responsible for introducing some aviozoonotic pathogens such as West Nile and avian influenza viruses to a local area, but most information on how bird movement correlates with virus prevalence is anecdotal or indirect. We report that the prevalence of Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) infection in cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius), the principal invertebrate vector for this virus, was directly associated with the likelihood of movement by cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), an amplifying host …

Ecological Correlates Of Buggy Creek Virus Infection In Oeciacus Vicarius, Southwestern Nebraska, 2004, Amy T. Moore, Eric A. Edwards, Mary Bomberger Brown, Nicholas Komar, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Buggy Creek virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, BCRV) is an alphavirus within the western equine encephalitis virus complex whose primary vector is the swallow bug, Oeciacus vicarius Horvath (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), an ectoparasite of the colonially nesting cliff swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, that is also a frequent host for the virus.We investigated ecological correlates of BCRV infection in 100-bug pools at 14 different swallow colony sites in southwestern Nebraska from summer 2004, by using plaque assay on Vero cells to identify cytopathic virus and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to identify noncytopathic viral RNA. We found 26.7% of swallow bug pools …

Sequence And The Developmental And Tissue-Specific Regulation Of The First Complete Vitellogenin Message From Ticks, Deborah M. Thompson, Sayed M.S. Khalil, Laura A. Jeffers, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Robert D. Mitchell, Christopher J. Osgood, R. Michael Roe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The first full-length mRNA for vitellogenin (Vg) from ticks was sequenced. This also represents the first complete sequence of Vg from the Chelicerata and of a heme binding Vg. The Vg cDNA from the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis was 5744nt in length (GenBank Accession number AY885250), which coded for a protein of 1843aa with a calculated molecular weight of 208kD. This protein had an 18 aa signal sequence, a single RXXR cleavage signal that would generate two subunits (49.5 and 157K in molecular weight) and lipoprotein N-terminal and carboxy von Willebrand factor type D domains. Tryptic digest MS analysis …

Phylogenetic Approach To The Study Of Triatomines (Triatominae, Heteroptera) = Abordagem Filogenética Em Triatomíneos (Triatominae, Heteroptera), Ester Tartarotti, M. T. V. Azeredo-Oliveira, C. R. Ceron

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Abstracts

Triatomines are insects belonging to the Hemiptera order, Heteroptera suborder, Reduviidae family and Triatominae subfamily. All members of this subfamily are hematophagous. Triatomines evolved from Reduviidae predators and they are probably polyphyletic in origin. The combination of anatomical, physiological and ethological factors observed in this group, as well as the plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters that differentiate the five tribes and fourteen triatomine genera reinforce the polyphiletic hypotesis. However if we consider the five groups of triatomines, the Rhodniini, Cavernicolini, Bolboderini, Linshcosteini and Alberproseniini tribes constitute monophyletic groups, while the Triatomini tribe is considered polyphyletic. The New World is the …

Glucocorticoid Hormone Levels Increase With Group Size And Parasite Load In Cliff Swallows, Samrrah A. Raouf, Linda C. Smith, Mary Bomberger Brown, John C. Wingfield, Charles R. Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Animals often cope with adverse events by releasing glucocorticoid hormones, which in turn promote increased energy assimilation. In captive animals, crowding also leads to increased glucocorticoid activity, probably because of increased levels of social competition. We investigated how group size and ectoparasite infestations affected endogenous levels of the glucocorticoid hormone, corticosterone, in colonial cliff swallows, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, in southwestern Nebraska, USA. Parasites were removed from some colonies by fumigating nests. Baseline levels of corticosterone in breeding adults varied significantly with whether parasites were present, colony size (measured by total number of active nests at a site), and nesting stage. …

Defensin In Ticks: Molecular Characterization, Expression, And Role In Innate Immunity, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Wayne L. Hynes, Shane M. Ceraul, Michelle Todd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Arthropod Defensin Expressed By The Hemocytes Of The American Dog Tick, Dermacentor Variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae), Shane M. Ceraul, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Robert E. Ratzlaff, Wayne L. Hynes

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Both soluble and cell-mediated components are involved in the innate immune response of arthropods. Injection of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, results in the secretion of defensin into the hemolymph of the ixodid tick, Dermacentor variabilis. The presence of the peptide is observed as early as 15 min post-challenge and remains present through 18 h post-challenge. As observed in insects and soft ticks, the transcript for defensin is detected as early as 1 h post-challenge in D. variabilis. RT-PCR resulted in an amplicon of 624 bp with a 225 bp region that translates to a 74 …