Thesis
Exploring the Frontier of Tick-Borne Viruses: Metagenomic Insights into Amblyomma triguttatum in Western Australia
Honours, Murdoch University
2024
Abstract
Ticks are vectors for various virulent viruses, bacteria, and protozoa, presenting significant challenges for public and animal health. Recently, several tick-borne viruses have been discovered in Australia with the aid of metagenomic technologies, some of which have been identified as potentially pathogenic. However, most of these studies have been limited to the east coast of mainland Australia and have focused on the Australian paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, leaving Western Australia largely unexplored, particularly with regard to the ornate kangaroo tick, Amblyomma triguttatum. This study, therefore, aimed to address this knowledge gap by collecting and analysing metagenomic sequencing data from 56 Am. triguttatum ticks collected from four locations in Western Australia. The results revealed the presence of two viruses that exhibited characteristics similar to those of the Mitoviridae and Parvoviridae families. In which the Mitoviridae-like viral sequence was inferred to be associated with a host other than Am. triguttatum, most likely a fungal organism. The Parvoviridae-like viral sequence was found to be associated with Am. triguttatum and could either be an endogenous element or an exogenous virus with a proviral mechanism. Particularly, the Parvoviridae-like viral sequence was reasoned to be a densovirus sequence that appears to correlate with another densovirus sequence found in the whole-genome sequencing of another tick species. If the discovered densovirus sequence is exogenous and has the potential to be transmitted via the tick vector to humans, its pathogenicity may involve a proviral mechanism. Nonetheless, this study provides valuable insights into the virome of one of the most common human-biting ticks in Australia, highlighting further exploration in the future.
Details
- Title
- Exploring the Frontier of Tick-Borne Viruses: Metagenomic Insights into Amblyomma triguttatum in Western Australia
- Authors/Creators
- Dean Naidoo
- Contributors
- Charlotte Oskam (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, Centre for Biosecurity and One HealthShu Hui Koh (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic SciencesJasim Uddin (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, Centre for Animal Production and Health
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Honours
- Identifiers
- 991005691970307891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences
- Resource Type
- Thesis
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