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Veterinary Pest Genomics Center Overview

The Veterinary Pest Genomics Center (VPGC) is an initiative within the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The vision for this initiative is to leverage big data solutions to evaluate risk from, and develop mitigations for invasive and other economically important veterinary pests. The introduction of invasive veterinary pests is accelerated by global change, including anomalies related to climate variability. An important aspect of this effort is to foster an innovation ecosystem involving the network of laboratories directly linked to ARS National Program 104 (Veterinary, Medical, and Urban Entomology), and related locations, in a way that allows ARS to leverage its scientific talent and other research assets.

VPGC's mission is to:

  1. Utilize key biological resources, next generation sequencing technology, and state-of-the-art bioinformatics approaches to sequence and annotate the genomes, transcriptomes, proteomes and metagenomes of important and emerging arthropod pests of veterinary importance
  2. Develop and use molecular tools for population genomics studies of veterinary pests in their indigenous and invasive ranges to understand the role of different evolutionary forces in shaping phenotypic variation of high-consequence to agriculture
  3. Apply biogeographic, spatial, and temporal analyses to quantify and predict economically important or potential veterinary pest distributional changes, and integrate these analyses with genetic studies of rapid evolution and adaptation of pests to new or changing environments
  4. Conduct feasibility studies to evaluate advanced computing hardware and software systems for their ability to store and analyze large data sets on veterinary pests, and the capacity to integrate results from longitudinal
    environmental assessments

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VPGC Datasets

12 datasets

Data from: Deer keds and blacklegged ticks infesting ungulates in the United States: molecular detection of Bartonella spp., Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma spp., and Borrelia spp.

    Deer keds are blood-feeding flies from which several human and animal pathogens have been detected, including the causative agent of Lyme Disease (Borrelia burgdorferi). Cervids, which are the primary hosts of deer keds, are not natural reservoirs of B. burgdorferi, and it has been suggested that deer keds may acquire bacterial pathogens by co-feeding near ticks that are infected with the bacteria. We tested this hypothesis by using a molecular assay to screen for presence of Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp., and Rickettsia spp. in specimens of European deer keds (n=306) and blacklegged ticks (n=315) collected from 38 individual white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania. There was limited similarity in the bacterial DNA detected between these ectoparasites per host, suggesting that co-feeding may not be a mechanism by which deer keds acquire these bacteria.

    Data from: Discovery of MicroRNAs of the Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) by High-Throughput Sequencing

      This dataset reports discovery and initial comparative analysis of 88 presumptive microRNA (miRNA) sequences from the stable fly, obtained using high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs. The majority of stable fly miRNAs were 22-23 nucleotides (nt) in length. Many miRNAs were arthropod specific, and several mature miRNA sequences showed greater sequence identity to miRNAs from other blood-feeding dipterans such as mosquitoes rather than to Drosophilids. This initial step in characterizing the stable fly microRNAome provides a basis for further analyses of life stage-specific and tissue-specific expression to elucidate their functional roles in stable fly biology.

      Data from: Pyrosequencing-Based Analysis of the Microbiome Associated with the Horn Fly, Haematobia irritans

        The bacterial 16S tag-encoded FLX-titanium amplicon pyrosequencing (bTEFAP) method was used to carry out the classification analysis of bacterial flora in adult female and male horn flies and horn fly eggs. The bTEFAP method identified 16S rDNA sequences in our samples which allowed the identification of various prokaryotic taxa associated with the life stage examined. This is the first comprehensive report of bacterial flora associated with the horn fly using a culture-independent method. Several rumen, environmental, symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria associated with the horn fly were identified and quantified. This is the first report of the presence of Wolbachia in horn flies of USA origin and is the first report of the presence of Rikenella in an obligatory blood feeding insect.