2010 Annual Report
1a.Objectives (from AD-416)
The primary objective of this proposal is to answer basic questions regarding population structure of cattle fever ticks and prevalence of Babesia sp. in South Texas. The following questions and hypotheses will be addressed:
1) Do cattle fever ticks in the Texas quarantine zone demonstrate population structure, either locally or across the entire landscape?
H1: Limited gene flow leads to high levels of population structure and is due to barriers to host dispersal (e.g. fences restrict host movement).
H2: Widespread gene flow leads to low levels of population differentiation because of widespread host movement, or other mechanisms of dispersal.
2) Are cattle fever ticks on non-bovine ungulates a source of ticks on cattle?
H1: Ticks use hosts indiscriminantly, and thus display no genetic structure across host species.
H2: Ticks form separate populations on cattle and other wild ungulates, with little genetic admixture across host types (possibly leading to host-race formation).
3) What geographic sources gave rise to the populations(s) of cattle fever ticks in Texas, and have multiple introductions occurred?
H1) Cattle fever ticks in Texas originated from a single introduction event from Mexico, have become permanently established in the quarantine zone, and display a limited subset of the total genetic variation found in Mexico.
H2) Texas ticks originate from a wide variety of locations, are continually reintroduced, and retain most of the genetic variation found in Mexico.
4) What is the source of new cattle fever tick populations found outside of the permanent quarantine zone?
H1) Recent tick outbreaks originate from nearby areas of the permanent quarantine zone, and therefore geographic proximity can be used to predict genetic similarity.
H2) New tick outbreaks originate from random locales within the quarantine zone or from Mexico, and thus geographic proximity does not correlate with genetic similarity.
5) Do cattle fever ticks collected from cattle and non-bovine ungulates within the Texas quarantine zone carry B. bovis and B. bigemina?
H1) Babesia has re-emerged in South Texas, and is found in ticks on cattle and/or wild ungulates in this region.
H2) Babesia has not re-emerged in South Texas, and is not found in ungulates or cattle in this region.
6) What is the geographic origin of Babesia populations in South Texas?
H1) The most likely source of Babesia in the U.S. is Mexico, resulting in high similarity between any US Babesia and pathogen strains from Mexico.
H2) Babesia is transported globally, and US Babesia are not similar to strains from Mexico.
7) Do Babesia strains in the permanent quarantine zone demonstrate population structure?
H1) B. bovis and B. bigemina are disseminated widely across the permanent quarantine zone, resulting in low levels of population genetic structure.
H2) B. bovis and B. bigemina originate from multiple locations but have limited dispersal, resulting in strong population structuring across the quarantine zone.
Cattle fever ticks collected from within the permanent and temporary preventive quarantine zone and those provided as part of a collaborative effort with scientists in Mexico will be used as the basis for the proposed tick population genetic studies. Genomic DNA will be isolated from individual tick specimens and used to amplify molecular markers, both published and identified as part of the proposed project, the results of which will be analyzed using standard population biology algorithms.
In addition, genomic DNA will be isolated from collected semi-engorged and engorged females for use in amplification of markers specific for Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, to assess the prevalence of the pathogen in South Texas. Existing markers will be evaluated, but the proposed project also aims to identify new species-specific markers. Isolates will be compared between counties of South Texas and also with states within Mexico to determine whether geographic differences can be identified. Documents Reimbursable with N. Arizona U. Log 39145.
In these first few months of the project we have applied for, and received an APHIS shipping permit so that our Texas collaborators can ship ticks to us as soon as they are available. The experiment will be conducted with larval ticks that are the offspring of field-collected females. In the meantime, we have concentrated on working out the experimental design so that we are prepared to run the experiment as soon as we receive the ticks. The progress of this project is monitored through frequent phone and e-mail communication with our Northern Arizona University and Kerrville ARS collaborators.