Microbiome Analysis of Amblyomma maculatum Colony Ticks
Description/Abstract/Artist Statement
This study investigates the bacterial microbiomes of Amblyomma maculatum colony ticks and how the microbiomes change depending on life stages and generations. A microbiome is defined as all the genetic material of microorganisms living in and on another organism. CUREs, a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences involve classes of students addressing real-world research questions without pre-defined outcomes. BIOL380/381, Research in Pathogen Biology, was designed as an advanced CURE for 300-level Biology students at ODU. In semester I of the 2020-2021 cycle, we addressed two main research questions associated with tick microbiomes:
1.) Does OTU composition differ between F1 and F2 generations?
2.) Does OTU composition differ between larva, nymph and adult life stages?
Unfed adult ticks were collected from field sites. A captive colony of A. maculatum was established at ODU by mating wild-caught A. maculatum to produce F1 larvae. Bioinformatic tests were run on Qiita and included Bray-Curtis beta diversity, a principal coordinate analysis, a phylogenetic bar-plot, a permutational multivariate analysis of variance and a dispersion test. Generations F1 and were widely distributed across the three-dimensional plots and did not present a large amount of clustering. Both null hypotheses are rejected and a significant variance in OTU composition is observed between different generations and life stages. This analysis serves as an ongoing effort to research OTU compositions among ticks to determine the transmission of pathogen R. parkeri.
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
David Gauthier
College Affiliation
College of Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster
Disciplines
Biology | Computational Biology | Entomology
Session Title
Pathogen Biology from Land to Sea
Location
Zoom Room JJ
Start Date
3-20-2021 3:00 PM
End Date
3-20-2021 3:55 PM
Microbiome Analysis of Amblyomma maculatum Colony Ticks
Zoom Room JJ
This study investigates the bacterial microbiomes of Amblyomma maculatum colony ticks and how the microbiomes change depending on life stages and generations. A microbiome is defined as all the genetic material of microorganisms living in and on another organism. CUREs, a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences involve classes of students addressing real-world research questions without pre-defined outcomes. BIOL380/381, Research in Pathogen Biology, was designed as an advanced CURE for 300-level Biology students at ODU. In semester I of the 2020-2021 cycle, we addressed two main research questions associated with tick microbiomes:
1.) Does OTU composition differ between F1 and F2 generations?
2.) Does OTU composition differ between larva, nymph and adult life stages?
Unfed adult ticks were collected from field sites. A captive colony of A. maculatum was established at ODU by mating wild-caught A. maculatum to produce F1 larvae. Bioinformatic tests were run on Qiita and included Bray-Curtis beta diversity, a principal coordinate analysis, a phylogenetic bar-plot, a permutational multivariate analysis of variance and a dispersion test. Generations F1 and were widely distributed across the three-dimensional plots and did not present a large amount of clustering. Both null hypotheses are rejected and a significant variance in OTU composition is observed between different generations and life stages. This analysis serves as an ongoing effort to research OTU compositions among ticks to determine the transmission of pathogen R. parkeri.