Blood meal analysis to identify reservoir hosts for Amblyomma americanum ticks.
Efforts to identify wildlife reservoirs for tick-borne pathogens are frequently limited by poor understanding of tick-host interactions and potentially transient infectivity of hosts under natural conditions. To identify reservoir hosts for lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum)-associated pathogens, we used a novel technology. In field-collected ticks, we used PCR to amplify a portion of the 18S rRNA gene in remnant blood meal DNA. Reverse line blot hybridization with host-specific probes was then used to subsequently detect and identify amplified DNA. Although several other taxa of wildlife hosts contribute to tick infection rates, our results confirm that the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a reservoir host for several A. americanum-associated pathogens. Identification of host blood meal frequency and reservoir competence can help in determining human infection rates caused by these pathogens.
Allan
Brian F
BF
Washington University in St Louis, Missouri 63025, USA. ballan@wustl.edu
Goessling
Lisa S
LS
Storch
Gregory A
GA
Thach
Robert E
RE
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology*; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D001898:Borrelia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003670:Deer / Q000469:parasitology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000469:parasitology*
D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S