USA COM graduate researcher examines relationship between bacteria and their vectors

Hanna Laukaitis, a graduate researcher, and Kevin Macaluso, Ph.D., professor and chair of microbiology and immunology, work in the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases in this file photo.

With an ultimate goal of developing more effective ways to stop the spread of certain diseases, Hanna Laukaitis, a graduate researcher at the USA College of Medicine, has compiled a comprehensive review of the relationship between bacterial pathogens and their vectors. 

“Unpacking the intricacies of Rickettsia–vector interactions” is being published through Trends in Parasitology, a high-impact journal that examines medical and veterinary parasites. Laukaitis’ review is available on ScienceDirect.com. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Bacteria belonging to the Rickettsia genus causes human diseases through transmission by blood-feeding arthropod vectors, such as ticks, fleas and lice. Both Rocky Mountain spotted fever and murine typhus are prominent examples of such diseases that can be transmitted to humans by these parasites. 

“The prevalence of vector-borne pathogens identified in nature is rapidly increasing.” Laukaitis said. “In addition to the pathogens that we work with in our lab that are associated with historical diseases, others are considered emerging.”

Laukaitis’ review, which was co-authored by Kevin Macaluso, Ph.D., professor and chair of microbiology and immunology, focuses on the relationships between Rickettsia bacteria and their arthropod vectors. By gaining a better understanding of their interplay and vector transmission, more efficient ways of preventing the spread of rickettsial diseases can be explored. 

“Different vectors can feed on the same animal, so one tick feeding on an animal does not limit another tick or flea from also feeding on that same host,” Laukaitis said. “This is one way bacteria can use arthropod vectors to spread to different hosts, which is a problem, because most of the vectors are not picky about which host they bite next. It is a very complicated but efficient way for bacteria to spread throughout the population.”

Laukaitis is originally from Pennsylvania, where she earned bachelor and master’s degrees in biology at Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa. She began work for her Ph.D. at Louisiana State University in 2017. Two years later, she relocated to Macaluso's Lab at the USA College of Medicine.