Author Type

Undergraduate Student

Date of Award

Summer 8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

August 2026

College Granting Degree

Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Kelsie Bernot

Thesis/Dissertation Co-Chair

Tracy Mincer

Abstract

Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), a keystone species of the Abacoa Greenway Preserve, face many health risks, like Upper Respiratory Tract Disease (URTD), caused by Mycoplasma agassizii infection. While URTD’s effects differ among tortoise populations, Abacoa’s tortoises display lower fatality rates with unclear causes. This study explores genetic variance in Toll-like Receptor 2 (TLR2) as a possible contributor to lower fatality rates from URTD infection. TLR2 initiates the immune response to Gram-positive bacteria in other tortoise species but is not currently sequenced in Gopherus polyphemus. Genetic sequencing targeted TLR2 through blood genomic DNA extraction, PCR fragment amplification with newly designed primers, fragment size confirmation with gel electrophoresis, and sequence comparison amongst tortoise species. Gopher tortoises and other tortoise species show similarities in the TLR2 sequences, but sequence differences between G. polyphemus and the related species should be further explored as potentially correlated with reduced URTD fatalities in Abacoa’s gopher tortoise population.

Download

Share

COinS