dc.contributor.author	Kesler, Dariana N. Rodríguez
dc.coverage.spatial	Georgia; Florida	en_US
dc.coverage.temporal	2019-2020	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2023-03-07T18:56:22Z
dc.date.available	2023-03-07T18:56:22Z
dc.date.issued	2022
dc.identifier.other	B2D810C0-A140-8885-4E1F-512F2E28DA03	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10428/6529
dc.description.abstract	Cytauxzoonosis is an infectious disease caused by the protozoan parasite Cytauxzoon felis that affects members of the family Felidae. Cytauxzoon belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, order Piroplasmida, and family Theileriidae. Members of this family are tick-transmitted protozoans that exist in erythrocytic and leukocytic stages in their intended hosts. Historically, the disease was thought to be fatal to domestic cats, but recent cases of host survival have been documented. Studies on the genetic variation of the first and second internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) of the rRNA operon have identified five prominent genotypes (ITSA, ITSB, ITSC, ITSG, ITSI) associated with varying cytauxzoonosis severity in the bobcat and domestic cat. Little research has been done so far to uncover how these genotypes are expressed in the vectors of the pathogen, Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick) and Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick). A number of studies have shown A. americanum to be a more competent vector in the wild. In this study PCR and gel electrophoresis were used to test for the presence of C. felis in blood samples from Felis catus (domestic cat), and the vector A. americanum. After testing for the presence of the parasite in each blood sample, positive samples were DNA sequenced in an attempt to identify distinct C. felis genotypes. Previously genotyped Lynx rufus (bobcat) DNA samples were used as positive controls and for comparison purposes. A total of 109 domestic feral cat samples were collected for this study from June 2019 to February 2020, and a total of 260 lone star tick samples were collected from March 2020 to May 2020. Of the collected samples eight samples from domestic cats and 17 from lone star ticks were sent to Florida State University for DNA sequencing. DNA sequence results showed that our samples were infected with more than one pathogen, the three genera within the order Piroplasmida were identified (Babesia sp, Theileria sp, and Cytauxzoon sp). Keywords: Cytauxzoon felis	en_US
dc.format.extent	1 electronic document and derivatives, 48 pages. 1642021 bytes.	en_US
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.	en_US
dc.subject	Academic theses	en_US
dc.subject	Biology	en_US
dc.subject	Felidae	en_US
dc.subject	Parasites	en_US
dc.subject	Veterinary protozoology	en_US
dc.subject	Georgia	en_US
dc.subject	Florida	en_US
dc.title	Vector-Host Prevalence Comparison of Cytauxzoon felis in south Georgia and north Florida	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Biology of the College of Science and Mathematics	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Chambers, Eric W.
dc.description.committee	Blackmore, Mark S.
dc.description.committee	Lockhart, Jack M.
dc.description.degree	M.S.	en_US
dc.description.major	Biology	en_US