Amblyomma americanum is a medically important vector in the southeast United States. Cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system of this species were examined. To investigate cellular processes, hemocytes produced in response to gram-negative infection were characterized according to their ultrastructure. Four hemocyte types were identified: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, type-I granulocytes, and type-II granulocytes. To elucidate molecular processes, we investigated AamTRAF as an immune-related gene by silencing the gene using RNAi then quantifying the hemocytes after inoculation with gram-negative and positive bacteria. It was found that silencing AamTRAF caused a decrease in hemocyte proliferation in response to gram-positive but not gram-negative bacteria. Knowledge gained from this research contributes to the understanding of the Amblyomma americanum immune system, with the long-term goal of determining how human pathogens evade detection in this vector.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>Amblyomma americanum</em> is a medically important vector in the southeast United States. Cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system of this species were examined. To investigate cellular processes, hemocytes produced in response to gram-negative infection were characterized according to their ultrastructure. Four hemocyte types were identified: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, type-I granulocytes, and type-II granulocytes. To elucidate molecular processes, we investigated AamTRAF as an immune-related gene by silencing the gene using RNAi then quantifying the hemocytes after inoculation with gram-negative and positive bacteria. It was found that silencing AamTRAF caused a decrease in hemocyte proliferation in response to gram-positive but not gram-negative bacteria. Knowledge gained from this research contributes to the understanding of the <em>Amblyomma americanum</em> immune system, with the long-term goal of determining how human pathogens evade detection in this vector.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["May, Jacquelyn T"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science - Biology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Josephine Taylor","Dr. Lindsay Porter","Dr. Zeljko Radulovic"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:37Z","subjects":["Amblyomma americanum","hemocytes","TRAF","ultrastructure","proliferation","infection","immune system","ticks","Biology","Entomology","Genetics","Molecular Genetics"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/448","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Josephine Taylor","Dr. Lindsay Porter","Dr. Zeljko Radulovic"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["May, Jacquelyn T"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-04-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science - Biology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Amblyomma americanum","hemocytes","TRAF","ultrastructure","proliferation","infection","immune system","ticks","Biology","Entomology","Genetics","Molecular Genetics"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/448"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Amblyomma americanum is a medically important vector in the southeast United States. Cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system of this species were examined. To investigate cellular processes, hemocytes produced in response to gram-negative infection were characterized according to their ultrastructure. Four hemocyte types were identified: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, type-I granulocytes, and type-II granulocytes. To elucidate molecular processes, we investigated AamTRAF as an immune-related gene by silencing the gene using RNAi then quantifying the hemocytes after inoculation with gram-negative and positive bacteria. It was found that silencing AamTRAF caused a decrease in hemocyte proliferation in response to gram-positive but not gram-negative bacteria. Knowledge gained from this research contributes to the understanding of the Amblyomma americanum immune system, with the long-term goal of determining how human pathogens evade detection in this vector.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Characterization of Hemocytes in Amblyomma americanum and Investigation of TRAF6’s Role in Proliferation of Hemocytes in Response to Infection"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Josephine Taylor","Dr. Lindsay Porter","Dr. Zeljko Radulovic"],"dc:creator":["May, Jacquelyn T"],"dc:date.available":["2022-04-26T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Amblyomma americanum is a medically important vector in the southeast United States. Cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system of this species were examined. To investigate cellular processes, hemocytes produced in response to gram-negative infection were characterized according to their ultrastructure. Four hemocyte types were identified: prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, type-I granulocytes, and type-II granulocytes. To elucidate molecular processes, we investigated AamTRAF as an immune-related gene by silencing the gene using RNAi then quantifying the hemocytes after inoculation with gram-negative and positive bacteria. It was found that silencing AamTRAF caused a decrease in hemocyte proliferation in response to gram-positive but not gram-negative bacteria. Knowledge gained from this research contributes to the understanding of the Amblyomma americanum immune system, with the long-term goal of determining how human pathogens evade detection in this vector.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/448"],"dc:subject":["Amblyomma americanum","hemocytes","TRAF","ultrastructure","proliferation","infection","immune system","ticks","Biology","Entomology","Genetics","Molecular Genetics"],"dc:title":["Characterization of Hemocytes in Amblyomma americanum and Investigation of TRAF6’s Role in Proliferation of Hemocytes in Response to Infection"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science - Biology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:37Z"}