# Control of bacterial infections by a horizontally acquired host peptidoglycan amidase

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $397,820

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Ticks are obligate blood-feeding arthropods that transmit numerous pathogens to both humans and
livestock. Lyme disease, which is caused by transmission of the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi by the deer
tick Ixodes scapularis, is responsible for over 95% of vector-borne disease cases in the United States. Despite
the importance of ticks as disease vectors, elucidating the molecular basis for tick–pathogen relationships has
lagged due to our incomplete understanding of tick innate immunity. We recently identified an antibacterial
enzyme in I. scapularis that was co-opted from bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. This domesticated
amidase effector (dae2) gene encodes an active, bacteriolytic cell wall hydrolase that is enriched in the gut and
salivary glands of ticks. We found that Dae2 affords previously uncharacterized antibacterial activity to the
innate immune system of ticks and propose to investigate its role in shaping tick–microbe interactions and
vector competence for the Lyme disease pathogen B. burgdorferi. This work will advance our fundamental
understanding of how ticks have evolved to selectively control bacteria they transmit and potentially offer new
avenues for blocking the tick-borne cycle of infection for an important human pathogen.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10075876
- **Project number:** 5R01AI132851-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Seemay Chou
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $397,820
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-14 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10075876

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10075876, Control of bacterial infections by a horizontally acquired host peptidoglycan amidase (5R01AI132851-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10075876. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*