The role of microbiota in shaping the tick midgut immunity and vector competence

• Grant number: 21/03649-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: January 01, 2022
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Agreement: Czech Science Foundation (GACR)
• Principal Investigator: Andréa Cristina Fogaça
• Grantee: Andréa Cristina Fogaça
• Principal researcher abroad: Ludek Zurek
• Institution abroad: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), Czech Republic
• Principal researcher abroad: Petr Kopacek
• Institution abroad: Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Czech Republic
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Jose Marcos Chaves Ribeiro ; Marcelo Bahia Labruna ; Marisa Farber ; Pedro Lagerblad de Oliveira ; Sirlei Daffre

Abstract

Rocky Mountain spotted fever caused by Rickettsia rickettsii and Lyme borreliosis caused by Borrelia sp. spirochetes are the most serious tick-borne diseases in Brazil and the Czech Republic, respectively. The midgut is the primary interface between the ingested pathogen and the tick. Tick-borne pathogens have to withstand the robust midgut immune reactions that maintain the midgut microbiota at very low levels in most tick species. This Brazilian-Czech project will join forces of three laboratories with the complimentary expertise to investigate how the midgut immunity and the microbiota shape the vector competence. Three investigated model vectors - Amblyomma sculptum, A. aureolatum, and Ixodes ricinus are clearly distinct in their microbiomes, susceptibility to transmitted pathogens, and presence of essential endosymbionts. Cutting-edge experimental platforms will be used to decipher the complex interactions among tick midgut immunity, microbiota, and pathogens, potentially leading to novel strategies for control of ticks and tick-borne diseases, fitting in 'One Health' concept. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

NASSAR, MARCELLY BASTOS; PAVANELO, DANIEL B.; LABRUNA, MARCELO B.; DAFFRE, SIRLEI; ESTEVES, ELIANE; FOGACA, ANDREA C.. The anal pore route is efficient to infect Amblyomma spp. ticks with Rickettsia rickettsii and allows the assessment of the role played by infection control targets. FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY, v. 13, p. 7-pg., 2023-10-12. (20/16462-7, 13/26450-2, 21/03649-4, 18/00652-1)