Project period: 9 1 23-8 31 25PROJECT title: implementation of comprehensive tick-borne pathogen and bloodmeal detection for surveillance in the national parks award purpose this research will…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Geological Survey under its Research and Data Collection program (CFDA 15.808) will implement advanced molecular detection methods to monitor tick-borne pathogens and identify their host bloodmeal sources in the National Parks. Cornell University, the prime awardee, will use a hybrid capture sequencing approach to detect and characterize bacterial, protozoal, and viral pathogens in ticks, as well as analyze tick bloodmeals to gather information on pathogen-host relationships. The $100,000 award over the 5-year project period aims to measure the effects of wildlife management efforts on tick-borne pathogen occurrence, coinfection potential, emergence of novel pathogens, and tick bloodmeal sources. The results will inform pathogen surveillance and risk assessment for National Parks visitors and staff, and be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications.

Project period: 9 1 23-8 31 25PROJECT title: implementation of comprehensive tick-borne pathogen and bloodmeal detection for surveillance in the national parks award purpose this research will implement a pathogen detection and subtyping workflow for use in monitoring the burden and evolution of tick-borne diseases in the national parks. Have developed novel advanced molecular detection methods based on hybrid capture sequencing, and will use these methods to assess bacterial, protozoal, and viral signatures in ticks to identify potential infection patterns, reveal emerging pathogens, and refine surveillance methods. In addition, will analyze host blood meals to gather information about pathogen-host relationships at the study sites. The method provides effective sequencing of large and diverse targets with high specificity, scalability, and multiplexing activities to be performed will work closely with the national parks service one health program to coordinate collection and submission of samples to the goodman laboratory. Are able to process ticks and or animal specimens. Propose that implementation of hybrid-capture technology will enable detection and characterization of pathogens in ticks and host blood meals over time. Specific aims are as follows: aim 1: implement a tick-borne pathogen detection panel targeting bacterial and protozoal pathogens. Aim 2: implement tick-borne pathogen detection targeting endemic, emerging, and newly discovered viral pathogens. Aim 3: analyze host blood meals by detection of remnants in ticks. Deliverables and expected outcomes using our novel method, will be able to contribute to measuring the effects of wildlife management efforts on: 1) the occurrence of specific tick-borne pathogens, 2) coinfection potential, and 3) the development of novel tick-borne pathogens, and 4) the tick bloodmeal sources. Data will be formatted as spreadsheets, DNA RNA sequences, and phylogenetic trees. Intended beneficiary(IES) national parks visitors and staff will benefit from awareness of tick monitoring for risk assessment. The outcomes of the collaborative disease ecology research will also be published in peer-reviewed journals for the benefit of the community and will inform management approaches in other locations. Subrecipient activities not applicable.