Project description:Ixodes pacificus, the vector of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) on the west coast, feeds on a variety of hosts including rodents, birds, and lizards. While rodents are reservoirs for Bb and can infect juvenile ticks, lizards are Bb-refractory. Despite the range of bloodmeals for I. pacificus, it is undetermined how larval host bloodmeal identity may affect future nymphal vector competence. Here, we conducted a transcriptome analysis on I. pacificus to determine whether and through what mechanisms host bloodmeal history affects vector competency of I. pacificus for the Lyme disease pathogen.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of germline-ablated P. pacificus worms exposed to S. marcescens for 8 hours versus germline-ablated P. pacificus exposed to the control E. coli OP50. First goal was to identify genes that are involved in immune response of germline-ablated P. pacificus when exposed to S. marcescens. Second, this was compared to longevity-regulating genes in germline-deficient animals (see series GSE37331).
