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Biosurveillance Utilizing Engorged Ticks As Phlebotomists for Xenodiagnosis Charles Elliott Lewis Iowa State University

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Biosurveillance Utilizing Engorged Ticks As Phlebotomists for Xenodiagnosis Charles Elliott Lewis Iowa State University Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2018 Biosurveillance utilizing engorged ticks as phlebotomists for xenodiagnosis Charles Elliott Lewis Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Animal Diseases Commons, Microbiology Commons, and the Veterinary Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Lewis, Charles Elliott, "Biosurveillance utilizing engorged ticks as phlebotomists for xenodiagnosis" (2018). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 16617. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/16617 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Biosurveillance utilizing engorged ticks as phlebotomists for xenodiagnosis by Charles Elliott Lewis A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Microbiology Program of Study Committee: Julie Blanchong, Major Professor Lyric Bartholomay Bradley Blitvich The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the program of study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this thesis. The Graduate College will ensure the thesis is globally accessible and will not permit alterations after a degree is conferred. Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2018 Copyright © Charles Elliott Lewis, 2018. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1 Thesis Organization .................................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3 Antibodies: a Basic Review of the Vertebrate Immune Response ............................................. 3 Current Approaches to Sample Collection: Restrictions and Risks ............................................ 4 Ticks: Considerations as Phlebotomists for Xenodiagnosis ....................................................... 7 cELISA: Simple Diagnostics for Vertebrate Antibody Detection .............................................. 9 LFA: a Reliable Pen-side and Field Immunoassay ................................................................... 11 Conclusions and Objectives ...................................................................................................... 13 Figures....................................................................................................................................... 14 References ................................................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER 3. MAINTENANCE OF THE ARGASID TICK ORNITHODOROS TARTAKOVSKYI USING A MODIFIED ARTIFICIAL MEMBRANE FEEDING SYSTEM ... 22 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Brief Communication ................................................................................................................ 23 Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................... 27 Figures....................................................................................................................................... 29 Tables ........................................................................................................................................ 31 References ................................................................................................................................. 32 CHAPTER 4. DETECTION OF ANTIBODIES IN ARGASID TICKS UTILIZING COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAYS ........ 34 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 35 Materials and Methods .............................................................................................................. 37 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 40 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 42 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 44 iii Tables ........................................................................................................................................ 46 Figures....................................................................................................................................... 51 References ................................................................................................................................. 57 CHAPTER 5. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND AREAS OF FUTURE RESEARCH ........... 60 References ................................................................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX: THEILERIA EQUI COMPETITIVE ELISA KIT WORKSHEET ........................ 64 iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Julie Blanchong, and my committee members, Dr. Brad Blitvich and Dr. Lyric Bartholomay, for their guidance and support throughout this research. In addition, I would like to thank the United States Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories for the Extended Graduate Training Program, which provided financial support for my Master program work. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues at the USDA, including Dr. Kim Dodd for motivating me to get this project completed, Josh Thompson for assistance with the laboratory work, and Dr. Monica Reising for assistance with the statistical analysis and graphics, and the faculty and staff in the Interdepartmental Microbiology program for making my time at Iowa State University a wonderful experience. Finally, I would also like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement throughout the program. v ABSTRACT Emerging infectious diseases pose a global threat to both human and animal health. The majority of novel zoonotic pathogens occur along the interface between humans, domestic animals, and wildlife creating complex ecological interactions that can be intricate and difficult to decipher. The availability of a diverse array of methods and techniques of sampling and diagnosing these diseases expands the effectiveness of the surveillance programs needed to enact countermeasures to counteract their effects. The purpose of the research reported here is to investigate the use of ticks as biological samplers for the purpose of antibody-based xenosurveillance. We show that antibody diagnostic techniques can be applied to tick blood meal samples and discuss the implications of this technology to understanding host immune status. In order to complete this work, we t also evaluated and expanded the use of membrane feeding in laboratory-derived tick colonies, and describe the use of a novel feeding apparatus for Argasid tick species which will expand the techniques available for use in arthropod laboratory research. When combined with other techniques, determining host antibody presence in tick blood meals could prove useful as part of a passive surveillance toolkit. This study confirms that ticks can function as bioaccumulators of host animal antibodies and provides a proof of concept that this information can be translated into a component of a serosurveillance program. 1 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION The diverse ecology of emerging infectious diseases warrants novel methods for searching for clues to elucidate pathogen-host dynamics, pathogen-environment dynamics, species spillover, and drivers of emergence and re-emergence of pathogens. These investigations often are limited by the expense, difficulty and associated dangers of trapping and/or sampling from animals, like bats, birds, and small rodents, that can be difficult to impossible to obtain. Remote or non-contact sampling methods are an opportunity to overcome some of these hurdles. The use of hematophagous arthropods as efficient samplers of vertebrate blood offers an elegant alternative to traditional blood collection techniques. The purpose of the research reported here is to investigate the use of ticks as a xenodiagnostic tool to take a biological sample from a host for the purpose of antibody-based surveillance. This thesis
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