Ticks, tiny blood-sucking insects, can make life miserable for livestock, pets and humans, and cause serious health problems such as Lyme disease.
But for Chantel Krakowetz, a biology student at the University of Saskatchewan, tick season provides her with material for a research project designed to increase knowledge of deer ticks and the bacteria they carry.
Krakowetz’s research into tick genetics is being funded by a two-year $100,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
“My project is a tick that’s known to transmit bacteria that cause disease, and it’s particularly important because it’s the one that carries Lyme disease,” she said.
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It’s the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. If left untreated, Lyme disease can result in serious health problems.
Krakowetz emphasized her work is research at the genetic level and doesn’t involve the medical or veterinary side of things.
Her research involves comparing the genetic makeup of deer ticks from around North America, to determine whether the bacterium that causes Lyme disease is associated with a specific type of tick.
“I’m interested in looking to see if there are relationships between types of ticks and strains of bacteria,” she said.
U of S biology professor Neil Chilton, Krakowetz’s supervisor, described ticks as one of the most important carriers of bacteria and viruses that cause disease in humans in North America.
“Chantel’s work will make an important contribution to studies measuring human health risks of the deer tick as their distribution across Canada changes,” he said in a U of S publication.
Deer ticks, also known as black-legged ticks, came from the United States originally but have been migrating north since the 1970s. They are well established in southeastern Canada.
