Grant Pemberton,
Sponsor or Client:
Title:
The importance of accounting for tick genetic diversity while developing robust cattle fever vaccines
Abstract:
The highly invasive southern cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) transmits single-celled parasites (Babesia spp.) that cause bovine babesiosis, a lethal disease of cattle. Both the disease and tick vector are endemic in Mexico and at risk of spreading into the US. Tick control in Mexico and a tick eradication quarantine area (TEQA) along the Texas border relies on the use of pesticides; however, extensive resistance to these chemicals is starting to develop. An alternative control method is being tested in Mexico and the TEQA, which uses an anti-tick vaccine to raise an antibody response in cattle that attacks the ticks when they take a bloodmeal. The current vaccine (Zoetis Immunomodulator™) targets a protein in the tick midgut (Bm86). Unfortunately, this vaccine is not universally effective against North American populations of R. microplus, possibly due to genetic diversity within the Bm86 protein. To increase the effectiveness of future vaccines, it is essential to account for the genetic diversity of vaccine targets, and we are sequencing thirteen tick genes under consideration as vaccine candidates. We screened tick populations from diverse locations in the Americas to identify mutations and quantify existing genetic diversity. This information will serve to increase the effectiveness of future vaccines by identifying highly conserved regions within each vaccine candidate and contribute to the long-term control of ticks in Texas and other parts of the world where R. microplus and babesiosis are now endemic.
Pemberton, Grant
Category
College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences > Biological Sciences > Poster Presentation
Description