(2nd Place) Fool me once…: Comparing acquired tick responses in three rodent hosts

Acquired tick resistance (ATR) is a phenomenon that has been historically observed in cattle, guinea pigs, and rabbits. ATR allows a host to inhibit the feeding of ticks by responding to tick salivary antigens, which later effects the molting and reproductive success of attached ticks. Since pathogen transmission from tick to host often requires attachment for long periods of time, a quickly produced immune response could also act as a prevention measure against the transmission of a pathogen to the host. Acquired tick resistance to Ixodes has been investigated in bank voles (M. glareolus); it is likely that the voles develop an acquired response that is not found in mice. Similar phenomena may be occurring in southern red-backed voles (C. gapperi) and meadow voles (M. pennsylvanicus). Tick capsules made of foam were glued to white-footed mice, southern red-backed voles, and meadow voles; this allowed nymphal blacklegged ticks to feed to repletion without disturbance. After dropping off, ticks were weighed and monitored for molt success to determine the effects of ATR responses among the host species. A better understanding of how an acquired immune resistance to tick bites works and why it differs between species is needed to drive parasitology research towards novel control methods.