Ticks are more than an inconvenience. Dangerous and potentially fatal tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease are on the rise in the United States, Canada and Europe, posing threats to anyone who works or recreates outdoors. A w88 online sports betting collaboration led by Monika Gulia-Nuss, assistant professor in the Department of w88 sports betting & Molecular Biology, has developed ground-breaking gene-editing for w88 online sports betting that could mitigate this public health concern by decreasing the ability of w88 online sports betting to be a vector for disease and pathogen transition.
The w88 online sports betting team’s latest discovery, published in iScience Journal, is a new protocol that allows gene editing at the embryo stage in w88 online sports betting, previously thought to be impossible.
Andrew Nuss and Monika w88 online sports betting.The Gulia-Nuss lab was joined in this w88 online sports betting by Andrew Nuss, assistant professor in the Department of Agriculture, w88 slot & Rangeland Sciences and his lab from the University of Nevada, Reno, along with researchers from The Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Infectious Disease Dynamic and University of Maryland’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology w88 online sports betting. The w88 online sports betting was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the project was further assisted by the Nevada Bioinformatics Center at the University of Nevada, Reno.
In this study, the researchers successfully carried out targeted gene disruption in w88 online sports betting with CRISPR-Cas9 using two methods: embryo injection and Receptor-Mediated Ovary Transduction of Cargo (ReMOT Control), a less labor-intensive method of gene-editing in arthropods first developed in insects by collaborator Jason Rasgon at Penn State.
While Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease, there are at least 20 different infections that are transmitted by w88 online sports betting in the U.S. More than 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed each year, and the number of new cases and the areas where w88 online sports betting are found are increasing.
“Ticks are a public health nuisance. They transmit many pathogens that can cause diseases in humans, companion animals and wild animals,” said Gulia-Nuss, a recipient of the w88 online sports betting’s Early Career Innovator Award in 2019. “We need to understand the biology of ticks on a molecular level. If we understand the [tick] vectors better, we can find new ways to manage ticks and tick-borne diseases as well, either through acaricide, vaccines or drug development.”
Finding a solution
w88 online sports betting’s work has attracted the attention of the Congressionally established Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, which invited her to present her public-impact w88 online sports betting and pioneering findings at their most recent meeting on Dec. 8, 2021. She described this as a “great experience” where she could elaborate on how the methods they are developing can lead to new and significant developments in the tick w88 online sports betting space.
“This is the first time ticks have been modified in any way on the genetic level, so that was really interesting for the committee,” said Gulia-Nuss. “The committee members wanted to hear more about [our group’s] work and how this could be applicable to different areas of tick-borne disease w88 online sports betting.”
Together Gulia-Nuss’ and Andrew Nuss’ labs are the first to develop the embryo injection protocol for gene editing for w88 online sports betting. With this new development, researchers can start editing any gene in the genome, allowing them to ask questions that were not possible to answer before. For example, when editing or removing certain genes, they can examine what happens to the tick and if this alteration interferes with the pathogen development in a way that makes it harmless to humans.
The discovery did not come without its challenges. A major struggle that Gulia-Nuss described was developing a way to inject tick eggs. Ticks are unique because they put a large amount of wax on their eggs, and that wax must be removed before the researchers can successfully inject the embryo without killing the egg. Collaboration with Robert Harrell, of the w88 online sports betting of Maryland and an expert in insect embryo injections, was important for finding appropriate injection conditions for tick embryos.
“By modifying ticks at a genetic level to try to reduce the incidence of Lyme disease, Monika and her collaborators provide an excellent example of the kind of groundbreaking w88 online sports betting we do at this University to have real impact on a public health issue. We’re grateful to have them on our team," saidBill Payne, dean, College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources.
The solution came about during a collaborative visit by Harrell to the w88 online sports betting of Nevada, Reno, during which he, Gulia-Nuss and Andrew Nuss considered tick biology and a gland in ticks that produces the wax and covers the eggs in it. They hypothesized that if they could remove the gland, their wax problem would be solved. This ended up being correct, resulting in a “technological breakthrough,” Gulia-Nuss said.
Andrew Nuss said learning from others’ past w88 online sports betting on genetic transformation played a huge role in their eventual breakthrough. He said that by looking at what has and hasn’t worked, their labs gained valuable insight that informed their w88 online sports betting.
Gulia-Nuss hopes that as their labs continue to develop these methods, they will evolve enough where other labs outside of the University can easily use them. With the expertise and collaborative efforts of more researchers, more progress can be achieved in tick w88 online sports betting, eventually reducing the tick-borne disease threat.
“Together we stand stronger,” she said.
Collaboration and community
A great degree of collaboration from local, regional and other w88 online sports betting partners makes Gulia-Nuss’ work successful. She and Andrew Nuss are part of a National Science Foundation multistate grant, joining four other w88 online sports betting faculty and 11 other researchers at other universities. This group has a diverse range of specialties, including computational biologists, geologists, modelers and video game developers. Gulia-Nuss expressed the importance of having different experts on a team.
“No one is an expert in everything. Together, we are trying to understand w88 online sports betting and tick-borne diseases dynamics in the Pacific West, specifically,” she said. “A lot of work has been done on the East Coast because Lyme disease is most prevalent in the Northeast and Midwest, but there’s not a whole lot of work being done on the West Coast of the United States, so we’re trying to fill that gap through the NSF grant.”
The husband and wife team are part of the biology team within the group, so their role is to work toward understanding different populations of w88 online sports betting and associated pathogens. They ask questions such as: Are w88 online sports betting from varying geographical areas different? What pathogens are associated with these w88 online sports betting? Are there any unique pathogens that are only in this area?
Another important aspect of their work involves going out into the field several times a year. This fieldwork usually involves members from four different labs at the w88 online sports betting – labs directed by Gulia-Nuss; Andrew Nuss; Claudia Rückert, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; and Mike Teglas, professor in the Department of Agriculture, Rangeland, and Veterinary Sciences – collecting ticks from different areas in the Western United States. They use a white cloth fabric and drag it across the area’s vegetation, collecting the ticks that latch onto the cloth.
The public often assists in the collection of w88 online sports betting as well. While they are not directly involved in collection efforts, volunteers from the public can send in w88 online sports betting they find while outdoors to their labs. If lab members see anyone in their collection area, they offer them collection kits if they’d like to participate. Other regional collaborators, such as the California Department of Public Health and Vector Control districts, also assist by sending in w88 online sports betting.
“It expands our capabilities,” Andrew Nuss said. “We can&w88 online sports betting;t be everywhere at once. We&w88 online sports betting;re a small team. But the public can certainly help. If they find a tick on themselves, or on their dog, that really can increase the number of samples we get, and coverage of areas as well.”
“It helps us a lot because we don’t know all the areas where w88 online sports betting can be found, and the public can help notify us as to where w88 online sports betting are,” Gulia-Nuss added.
This fieldwork also acts as an opportunity for Gulia-Nuss and others to educate the public about the prevalence of w88 online sports betting and tick-borne diseases. While out, she said they want to help others understand that tick life stages are present in these areas all the time, throughout the year, not just in summer or fall.
As Gulia-Nuss and her collaborators continue their important w88 online sports betting, she said there will always be something new to discover.
“Every day we find something new that we haven’t thought about,” she said. “The most fascinating part about the work is pushing the boundaries, making new tools for arthropod w88 online sports betting, involving the public in our w88 online sports betting through citizen scientist projects, training and mentoring the next generation of scientists.”
