Monitoring of ticks and tick-borne pathogens through a nationwide research station network in Finland

In 2015 a long-term, nationwide tick and tick-borne pathogen (TBP) monitoring project was started by the Finnish Tick Project and the Finnish Research Station network (RESTAT), with the goal of producing temporally and geographically extensive data regarding exophilic ticks in Finland. In the current study, we present results from the first four years of this collaboration. Ticks were collected by cloth dragging from 11 research stations across Finland in May September 2015-2018 (2012-2018 in Seili). Collected ticks were screened for twelve different pathogens by qPCR: Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis, Bartonella spp. and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Altogether 15 067 Ixodes ricinus and 46 Ixodes persulcatus were collected during 68 km of dragging. Field collections revealed different seasonal activity patterns for the two species. The activity of I. persulcatus adults (only one nymph detected) was unimodal, with activity only in May July, whereas Ixodes ricinus was active from May to September, with activity peaks in September (nymphs) or July August (adults). Overall, tick densities were higher during the latter years of the study. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were the most common pathogens detected, with 48.9 +/- 8.4% (95% Cl) of adults and 25.3 +/- 4.4% of nymphs carrying the bacteria. No samples positive for F. tularensis, Bartonella or TBEV were detected. This collaboration project involving the extensive Finnish Research Station network has ensured enduring and spatially extensive, long-term tick data collection to the foreseeable future.Peer reviewe

Monitoring of ticks and tick-borne pathogens through a nationwide research station network in Finland

In 2015 a long-term, nationwide tick and tick-borne pathogen (TBP) monitoring project was started by the Finnish Tick Project and the Finnish Research Station network (RESTAT), with the goal of producing temporally and geographically extensive data regarding exophilic ticks in Finland. In the current study, we present results from the first four years of this collaboration. Ticks were collected by cloth dragging from 11 research stations across Finland in May–September 2015–2018 (2012–2018 in Seili). Collected ticks were screened for twelve different pathogens by qPCR: Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Francisella tularensis, Bartonella spp. and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Altogether 15 067 Ixodes ricinus and 46 Ixodes persulcatus were collected during 68 km of dragging. Field collections revealed different seasonal activity patterns for the two species. The activity of I. persulcatus adults (only one nymph detected) was unimodal, with activity only in May–July, whereas Ixodes ricinus was active from May to September, with activity peaks in September (nymphs) or July–August (adults). Overall, tick densities were higher during the latter years of the study. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were the most common pathogens detected, with 48.9 ± 8.4% (95% Cl) of adults and 25.3 ± 4.4% of nymphs carrying the bacteria. No samples positive for F. tularensis, Bartonella or TBEV were detected. This collaboration project involving the extensive Finnish Research Station network has ensured enduring and spatially extensive, long-term tick data collection to the foreseeable future

Roundup®-kasvinsuojeluaineen vaikutus japaninviiriäisen (Coturnix japonica) fysiologiaan

Glyfosaattipohjaiset kasvinsuojeluaineet ovat maailman käytetyimpiä kasvinsuojeluaineita. Glyfosaatti häiritsee kasvien kasvua estämällä kasvien biokemiallisen aineenvaihduntareitin, nk. sikimaattireitin toimintaa. Eläimiltä tämä aineenvaihduntareitti puuttuu, mutta glyfosaatin tai glyfosaattipohjaisten kasvinsuojeluaineiden sisältämien muiden lisäaineiden epäillään silti voivan vaikuttaa eläinten terveyteen haitallisesti. Linnut voivat altistua luonnossa herbisidijäämille esimerkiksi ruokailemalla kasvinsuojeluaineilla käsitellyillä pelloilla. Siipikarja voi altistua glyfosaattipohjaisille kasvinsuojeluaineille rehun sisältämien jäämien välityksellä. Glyfosaattivalmisteiden mahdollisia vaikutuksia lintuihin ei tunneta vielä hyvin, joten tässä pro gradu -tutkimuksessa selvitin glyfosaattipohjaisen kasvinsuojeluaineen (Roundup Flex®) vaikutusta japaninviiriäisen (Coturnix japonica) fysiologian eri biomarkkereihin: EROD-analyysillä mitattuun maksan CYP1A-entsyymien aktiivisuuteen sekä qPCR-menetelmällä mitattuun maksa- ja verikudoksen telomeerien pituuteen sekä mitokondrioiden määrään. Japaninviiriäisiä (koeryhmä: 23 koirasta, 15 naarasta; kontrolliryhmä: 24 koirasta, 14 naarasta) altistettiin rehun kautta glyfosaattipohjaiselle herbisidille vuoden ajan. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää glyfosaattipohjaisen herbisidin vaikutusta lintujen normaaliin fysiologiaan: tulosten perusteella voidaan arvioida herbidisijäämille altistumisen vaikutuksia esimerkiksi luonnonlintupopulaatioihin tai tuotantoeläiminä kasvatettaviin lintuihin. Herbisidialtistuksella ei havaittu vaikutusta maksanäytteistä mitattuun CYP1A-entsyymien aktiivisuuteen. Entsyymiaktiivisuuden havaittiin olevan suurempaa koiras- kuin naaraslinnuilla, sekä tutkimuksessa havaittiin korrelaatio linnun painon ja entsyymiaktiivisuuden välillä: painavammilla linnuilla aktiivisuus oli matalampaa. Herbisidialtistuksella ei ollut vaikutusta myöskään maksa- ja verinäytteistä mitattuihin telomeerien suhteelliseen pituuteen tai mitokondrioiden määrään. Verinäytteistä mitattu mitokondrioiden määrä oli matalin seitsenviikkoisilla linnuilla; verinäytteistä mitattu telomeerien pituus laski iän myötä. Tulosten perusteella kokeessa käytetyllä glyfosaattialtistuksella ei ollut suurta vaikutusta japaninviiriäisten fysiologiaan. Soveltaessa tutkimustuloksia luonnonolosuhteisiin on huomioitava, kuinka luonnossa lintujen altistumisen määriin vaikuttavat esimerkiksi glyfosaattipohjaisten herbisidien käyttötavat sekä erilaiset ympäristötekijät, jotka vaikuttavat herbisidien kulkeutumiseen ja hajoamiseen.Glyphosate-based herbicides are the most widely used herbicides in the world. Glyphosate disturbs the growth of plants by inhibiting a metabolic pathway called shikimic acid pathway. Animals lack this biochemical pathway, but glyphosate or glyphosate-based formulations have been considered to have a potential to cause adverse effects in animal health. Birds can get exposed to herbicide residues for instance by feeding on fields treated with herbicides. Poultry can get exposed to glyphosate-based herbicides via residues on fodder. The potential effects of glyphosate-based herbicides on birds are not well known, so in this thesis the effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide (Roundup Flex®) on the biomarkers of the physiology of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were investigated: the activity of CYP1A-enzymes on liver was analysed with EROD-analysis, and the telomere length and mitochondria copy number with qPCR. Japanese quails (treatment group: 23 males, 15 females; control group: 24 males, 14 females) were exposed to glyphosate-based herbicide via food for one year. The objective was to study the effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on the normal bird physiology: the results can be used evaluating the effects of herbicide residue exposure on wild bird populations or poultry. The herbicide treatment did not have an effect on the activity of the liver CYP1A-enzymes. CYP1A-enzyme activity was higher in males than females, and a correlation between the weight of a bird and the enzyme activity was found: heavier birds had a lower enzyme activity. Herbicide treatment did not have a significant effect on the telomere length or mitochondria copy number either. Blood mitochondria copy number was the lowest in seven-week old birds. Blood telomere length decreased with age. Based on the results, the exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide did not have a significant effect on the normal physiology of Japanese quail. However, in natural environments, the bioavailability of herbicide residues is dependent on several factors such as the use of herbicides and local environmental factors that affect the transfer and stability of the herbicide residues