U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory: Beltsville, MD
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Resources
                        Our ScientistsSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Northeast Area Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory Research





- Li, Robert
- Tuo, Wenbin
- Thompson, Peter
- Fleming, Damarius
- 2023
- 2022
- Publications
- Animal Health (103)

Research Project: **Location:
                            Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory** Project Number: 8042-32000-116-000-D
                        
                        Project Type: In-House Appropriated Start Date: Nov 10, 2021
                        
                        End Date: Nov 9, 2026 **Objective:**
                        
                        Objective 1: Characterize host immune responses and identify vaccine candidates and therapeutics that mitigate the impact of parasite infections. 
Sub-objective 1A: Characterize truncated infection-induced host immune responses and identify T cell-stimulating antigens as vaccine candidates. 
Sub-Objective 1B. Test and optimize the efficacy of an enterically coated Cry5B formulation.
Objective 2: Characterize and modulate the host microbiome to enhance resilience to parasitic infections. 
Objective 3. Identify genetic markers that discriminate between drug susceptible and resistant strains of nematodes.
Objective 4. Use molecular epidemiology to investigate the role of wild ruminants as sources of nematode infections in domestic livestock.
Sub-Objective 4A. Establish sampling procedures for population genetic analyses of GI nematodes of domestic and wild ungulates.
Sub-Objective 4B: Survey the biodiversity of parasites in sympatric wild and domestic ruminants of the United States.
Sub-Objective 4C. Population genetic structure of multiple GI nematode species across the United States. **Approach:**
                        
                        Identify the most effective infection and drug treatment strategies that allow for maximized in-tissue immune stimulation by killed O. ostertagi, thereby increasing protection against challenge infection.
Characterize the synergy between rumen protected methionine and probiotics on growth in parasite naïve goats.
Test the synergistic effect of sequential exposure of parasites to two therapeutic treatments, the conventional anthelmintic drug Cydectin and Cry5B paraprobiotics, in reducing worm burden in sheep under natural infection on pasture. At necropsy, worm burden in the entire GI tract will be determined from actual counts of worms collected from the abomasum and small intestine. Parasite species, sex, and developmental stages will be recorded. Longitudinal repeat measure fecal egg count data will be transformed using the square root, log, or other means, and then be analyzed using a mixed model (linear or non-linear) in the R nlme package.
Focus on Cooperia punctata, given that resistance is well documented and we possess two strains resistant to Ivermectin (IVM) or Doramectin (DM). 
fecal samples will be collected from 10 cattle from four locations that are separated by at least 50 miles and 10 white-tailed deer collected within 10 miles of the sampled farms. Fecal cultures will be prepared using a modified coproculture technique and DNA extracted. We will assess the abundance of various coinfecting species using the Nemabiome technique.
use non-invasive techniques to assay wild and domestic parasite species in six regions of the United States based on the concentration of cattle production, natural geographic divisions, and wild ungulate species: the six regions refer to the Southeast, Northeast, Upper, Central, and Southern Midwest, and Southwest. 
Sequence individuals from these collections using RADseq technology and bioinformatic tools to examine population genetic structure for as many species as we have sufficient sampling (at least 30 individuals from multiple regions), taking advantage of the samples collected for the above discussed biodiversity assay.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov