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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)

Articles published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the research grant:
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VEICULO: TITULO (DATA)
VEICULO: TITULO (DATA)

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., . (20/16462-7, 13/26450-2, 21/03649-4, 18/00652-1)