Welcome
Welcome to the bs4 output for my PhD Thesis.
To view/download the PDF output, click here (or click the cover image).
Enjoy!
Abstract
Ticks (Ixodida) represent one of the most important vector groups affecting human and animal health, and in recent years there have been increasing concerns regarding the cause of tick-borne disease affecting Australians. Worldwide, wildlife health surveillance is recognised as a key tool for investigating tick-borne infections and a One Health approach is essential to understand the epidemiology of tick-associated microbes. Therefore, this research aimed to; i) identify ticks from Australian wildlife; ii) investigate bacteria and haemoprotozoa present in wildlife and ticks; and iii) characterise microbes and understand the interplay between host-microbe-tick. Molecular tools were used to assist in the identification of Australian ticks. Museum specimens of the human biting tick Amblyomma triguttatum were used to investigate the molecular systematics of this species complex. A set of molecular barcodes was developed for Australian ticks, which was important for the accurate identification of immature life stages and cryptic species. Additionally, a novel 12S rDNA metabarcoding assay was developed for high throughput identification of ticks. Free-ranging animals and their ticks were sampled from urban and peri-urban areas. The bacterial and haemoprotozoan diversity was characterised using a combination of amplicon high-throughput sequencing, targeted Sanger sequencing, and microscopy. Bacterial profiling generated over 100 million sequences. Statistical analysis using constrained ordination methods revealed blood, tick and tissues had distinct community signatures. A diverse range of tick associated microbes was identified, such as Anaplasmataceae, Bartonellaceae, Borreliaceae, Coxiellaceae, Midichloriaceae. Overall, these microbes were rare in wildlife hosts and generally confined to specific sample types. In addition, eight species of haemoprotozoa were identified, including species within the genera Babesia, Hepatozoon, Theileria and Trypanosoma. Lastly, this study further confirmed the absence of northern hemisphere tick-borne pathogens and provided further evidence of the unique microbes present in Australian wildlife and ticks.
Acknowledgments
Firstly I would like to thank my Principal Supervisor Dr. Charlotte Oskam. You have continued to go above and beyond the role of supervisor. Thank you for your fierce support and mentorship over these last few years. Since the first email I sent years ago, you have always been so generous with your time. I thank you dearly for your advice, kindness and guidance throughout this journey.
To Prof. Peter Irwin, thank you for welcoming me in and providing me with the platform to explore the wonderful world of wildlife and parasites. It has been an honour to share in this project, and I will forever be grateful for the unique chance to learn from you and share some great memories in the field.
To Prof. Una Ryan, your kindness and generosity truly are one-of-kind. Thank you for the support, opportunities and advice you have provided. It has been a delight and privilege to be guided through my scientific journey by you; the delicious supply of baked good quickly become a vital component too!
A project like this is not possible without a small army of help. Completing a PhD project in wildlife zoonoses has been an honour. It has led me on a fantastic journey and granted me the pleasure of experiencing some wonderful and unique places.
A huge thank you to my Co-Supervisor Prof. Peter Banks and to Casey Taylor at the University of Sydney. This project would not able been possible without you both. Thank you for being generous hosts and fantastic collaborators, it truely has been such a pleasure to work you with. An extended thank you also goes to the Banks lab for support and assistance with fieldwork.
To Dr. Jill Austen, a massive thank you for your loyal support and friendship. Not only did you generously share your time in the lab, but you also welcomed me into the Austen circle. You quickly became fundamental to my PhD project, and I will be forever grateful for all you did to help me achieve this. Thank you for your unwavering support both inside and outside the lab.
I owe a huge debt to Dr. Amy Northover. It never crossed my mind to pursue research until our paths met; thank you dearly for your mentorship and continued support. Thank you also to Sarah Keatley; many moons ago, you so patiently introduced me to the lab world, and I have never looked back. Thank you both also for the extended loaning of equipment during fieldwork times.
Thank you to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction team at the Perth Hills and surrounds for allowing me to tag along during field sessions. In particular, a special thank you to Rebecca Kay, Douglas Giles and Hannah Kilian. Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted in the field, in particular to Jade Kelly and Dr. Amanda Barbosa.
A special mention to Dr. Joe Fontaine - early on in my PhD journey you provided some much-valued direction, mentorship and extended connections. I thank you and the team for always obliging to collect ticks!
To Dr. Bruce Halliday, thank you for your warm hospitality at the Australian National Insect Collection in Canberra and for always assisting in queries and requests for more ticks! I also thank Prof. Ian Beveridge (Melbourne University), Dr. Mark Harvey (Western Australian Museum), Dr. Owen Seeman (Queensland Museum) for providing advice on and access to tick collections.
Access to specimens and controls was vital for validation assays. I thank Dr. Jill Austen, Dr. Amanda Barbosa, Dr. Andrea Paparini, A/Prof. Chris Peacock and The Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory.
A huge thank you to Dr. Shane Tobe, not only for providing some valued lab equipment but also for the extended opportunities and guidance. A big thank you to Frances Brigg and Dr. David Berryman (Western Australian State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre) for access to equipment and sequencing. Thank you also to Dr. David Chandler, Dr. Christopher Noune and Dr. Matthew Stevens (Australian Genomics Research Facility) for assistance with sequencing. I am also grateful for the support from the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre - thank you for the speedy responses and help in setting up computational workflows.
An extended thank you to the Cryptick Lab group members past and present. Thank you for the good cheer, coffee runs and friendship over the years.
Finally, to my family, who laid the foundation to make all this possible. To mum (Denice), Allan, Katie, Rhys and Luke, I wouldn’t be who I am today without you all. Your love and support make up the heart and soul of this work. To my partner, Ray, thank you for being my biggest support and making it possible to reach the end of this journey. I know it has not always been easy but thank you for pushing me forward and never letting me give in. The PhD journey has often been all-consuming, but thank you all for helping me reach the end.