Discussion
The I. scapularis and B. burgdorferi disease system is a
model for ecological disease research. With the slow-moving epidemic of
Lyme disease spreading throughout the U.S., studying this system creates
a unique opportunity to describe how vector population genetics can be
linked to changes in pathogen prevalence. With I. scapularishaving notable genetic and behavioral differences associated with Lyme
disease rates, identifying candidate loci and genomic regions that
correlate with disease transmission gives researchers new opportunities
to understand ecological disease dynamics and public health agencies the
opportunity to track Lyme disease risk by genotyping relatively small
numbers of ticks. Below, we discuss our overall goals to: 1) build and
use a system to efficiently collect and genotype a large number of SNPs
in many I. scapularis individuals, 2) better understand the
amount of genetic variation within and among populations of I.
scapularis , determining if variation was structured in relation to
geographic regions or human Lyme disease cases (a proxy forBorrelia burgdorferi s.s. prevalence) and providing prospective
genetic markers for vectorial capacity by identifying sites or genomic
regions that may be driving differences and 3) estimate where contact
zones between major genetic groups may exist.