The number of cases of tick-borne diseases is increasing in the United States. Many efforts to control ticks have been made and are continuously being developed. These methods include surveillance of ticks and detection of the tick-borne pathogens.This study examined hard ticks in Nacogdoches, Texas, to test for the presence of Rickettsia sp. 47 ticks were collected from vegetation by flagging and their species, sex, and developmental stage were determined using available keys. Individual ticks were processed for nucleic acid extraction and molecular detection of Rickettsia sp. using PCR-based methods. The citrate cynthease gene, 17kDa gene, and outer membrane protein A gene were used as genetic markers. All 47 ticks were tested with these markers and out of 13 Amblyomma americanum ticks 4 were positive, 9 Dermacentor variabillis ticks 1 was positive, 6 Amblyomma maculatum ticks 4 were positive, and out of 19 Ixodes scapularis ticks 12 were positive.
","abstract_html":"<p>The number of cases of tick-borne diseases is increasing in the United States. Many efforts to control ticks have been made and are continuously being developed. These methods include surveillance of ticks and detection of the tick-borne pathogens.This study examined hard ticks in Nacogdoches, Texas, to test for the presence of <em>Rickettsia </em>sp. 47 ticks were collected from vegetation by flagging and their species, sex, and developmental stage were determined using available keys. Individual ticks were processed for nucleic acid extraction and molecular detection of <em>Rickettsia </em>sp. using PCR-based methods. The citrate cynthease gene, 17kDa gene, and outer membrane protein A gene were used as genetic markers. All 47 ticks were tested with these markers and out of 13 <em>Amblyomma americanum </em>ticks 4 were positive, 9 <em>Dermacentor variabillis </em>ticks 1 was positive, 6 <em>Amblyomma maculatum </em>ticks 4 were positive, and out of 19 <em>Ixodes scapularis </em>ticks 12 were positive.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Standifird, Haley Nicole"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science - Biology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Robert Wiggers","Dr. Zeljko Radulović","Dr. Dennis Gravatt"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-08-05T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-08-05T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:37Z","subjects":["ticks","Rickettsia","Nacogdoches","Rocky mountain spotted fever","RMSF","Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/505","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Robert Wiggers","Dr. Zeljko Radulović","Dr. Dennis Gravatt"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Standifird, Haley Nicole"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-08-25T07:00:00Z"]},{"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":["ticks","Rickettsia","Nacogdoches","Rocky mountain spotted fever","RMSF","Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/505"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The number of cases of tick-borne diseases is increasing in the United States. Many efforts to control ticks have been made and are continuously being developed. These methods include surveillance of ticks and detection of the tick-borne pathogens.This study examined hard ticks in Nacogdoches, Texas, to test for the presence of Rickettsia sp. 47 ticks were collected from vegetation by flagging and their species, sex, and developmental stage were determined using available keys. Individual ticks were processed for nucleic acid extraction and molecular detection of Rickettsia sp. using PCR-based methods. The citrate cynthease gene, 17kDa gene, and outer membrane protein A gene were used as genetic markers. All 47 ticks were tested with these markers and out of 13 Amblyomma americanum ticks 4 were positive, 9 Dermacentor variabillis ticks 1 was positive, 6 Amblyomma maculatum ticks 4 were positive, and out of 19 Ixodes scapularis ticks 12 were positive.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Molecular Detection and Characterization of Rickettsia sp. in Hard Ticks Collected in Nacogdoches, Texas"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Robert Wiggers","Dr. Zeljko Radulović","Dr. Dennis Gravatt"],"dc:creator":["Standifird, Haley Nicole"],"dc:date.available":["2023-08-25T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The number of cases of tick-borne diseases is increasing in the United States. Many efforts to control ticks have been made and are continuously being developed. These methods include surveillance of ticks and detection of the tick-borne pathogens.This study examined hard ticks in Nacogdoches, Texas, to test for the presence of Rickettsia sp. 47 ticks were collected from vegetation by flagging and their species, sex, and developmental stage were determined using available keys. Individual ticks were processed for nucleic acid extraction and molecular detection of Rickettsia sp. using PCR-based methods. The citrate cynthease gene, 17kDa gene, and outer membrane protein A gene were used as genetic markers. All 47 ticks were tested with these markers and out of 13 Amblyomma americanum ticks 4 were positive, 9 Dermacentor variabillis ticks 1 was positive, 6 Amblyomma maculatum ticks 4 were positive, and out of 19 Ixodes scapularis ticks 12 were positive.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/505"],"dc:subject":["ticks","Rickettsia","Nacogdoches","Rocky mountain spotted fever","RMSF","Biology"],"dc:title":["Molecular Detection and Characterization of Rickettsia sp. in Hard Ticks Collected in Nacogdoches, Texas"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science - Biology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:37Z"}