Tim Kurtti

Professor Emeritus

kurtt001@umn.edu

+1 612 624 4740

522 Hodson Hall

1980 Folwell Avenue
St Paul, MN 55108
United States

Education

B.A. University of Minnesota, Microbiology, 1965
Ph.D. University of Minnesota, Entomology, 1974

Areas of Interest

Tick microbiology, arthropod cell culture, Rickettsia

Teaching

Insect Physiology
Insect Pathology
Medical Entomology

Research

Current:

Tick cell culture. Relationship of tick endosymbionts to select agents (Rickettsia, Francisella and Coxiella) transmitted by ticks. Analysis of global gene expression of tickborne bacteria in tick and human cells using tiling arrays. Tick transgenesis and paratransgenesis: transformation of tick cells and endosymbionts of ticks using mariner based transposition systems. Microbial (fungal) control of ticks. Cellular and humoral immune mechanisms in ticks. Cellular and molecular determinants of transmission of Lyme disease spirochetes by Ixodes ticks. Rickettsiae associated with ticks.

Past:

Biology of Lyme disease spirochetes in ticks and tick cell culture. Cultivation of malarial and babesial parasites in arthropod cell cultures. Microsporidia associated with arthropods of medical and agricultural importance. Cell culture systems for propagation and study of microsporidia.

International collaborative projects:

On Cardinium and Wobachia symbionts of arthropods with Dr. Hiroaki Noda and colleagues (Chief of Research Unit, National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Tsukuba Japan: Professor, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo Japan). Most recent joint publication, Nakamura, Y., Gotoh, T., Imanishi, S., Mita, K., Kurtti, T. J., Noda, H. 2011. Differentially expressed genes in silkworm cell cultures in response to infection by Wolbachia and Cardinium endosymbionts. Insect Molecular Biology 20:279-289).

Tick cell biology with Dr. Sirlei Daffre (Associate Professor, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil (Esteves, E., Lara, F.A., Lorenzini, D.M., Costa, G.H.N., Fukuzawa, A.H., Pressinotti, L.N., Silva, J.R.M.C., Ferro, J.A., Kurtti, T.J., Munderloh, U.G. and Daffre, S. 2008. Cellular and molecular characterization of an embryonic cell line (BME26) from the tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 38:568-580)

Tick cell culture with Dr. Darci Barros-Battesti (Laboratório de Artrópodes, Instituto Butantan. Avenida Vital Brazil 1500, 05503-900 São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil)

Establishment of a Tick Cell Line Biobank funded by Wellcome Trust with Dr Lesley Bell-Sakyi (The Roslin Wellcome Trust Tick Cell Biobank, The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Edinburgh EH9 1QH, Scotland, UK). Most of the tick cell lines generated at the University of Minnesota are deposited in this "Biobank."

Memberships in Scientific Societies:

American Society for Microbiology; Entomological Society of America; Society for Invertebrate Pathology; Society for In Vitro Biology; New York Academy of Science; American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Sigma Xi.

Select Publications

Journals:

Oliver JD, Burkhardt NY, Felsheim RF, Kurtti TJ, Munderloh UG. 2014 Motility characteristics are altered for Rickettsi bellii transformed to overexpress a heterologousrickA. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.03352-13

Goblirsch MJ, Spivak MS, Kurtti TJ. 2013. A cell line resource derived from the honey bee (Apis mellifera) embryonic tissues. PLoS ONE 8(7):e69831 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069831

Chávez A. S. O., Felsheim R. F., Ku P-S, Kurtti T. J., Brayton K. A., Munderloh U. G. 2012. Expression patterns of Anaplasma marginale msp2 variants change in response to growth in cattle, and tick cells versus mammalian cells. PLoS One 7(4):e36012.

Wood, D. O., Hines, A., Tucker, A. M., Woodard, A., Driskell, L. O., Burkhardt, N. Y., Kurtti, T. J., Baldridge, G. D., Munderloh, U. G.2012. Establishment of a replicating plasmid in Rickettsia prowazekii. PLOS ONE 7 (4):e34715.

Burkhardt N. Y., Baldridge G. D., Williamson P. C., Billingsley P. M., Heu C. C., Felsheim R. F., Kurtti T. J., Munderloh U. G. 2011. Development of shuttle vectors for transformation of diverse rickettsia species. PLoS One 6(12): e29511.

Munderloh U. G., Kurtti T. J. 2011. Emerging and re-emerging tick-borne diseases: new challenges at the interface of human and animal health. In: Critical Needs and Gaps in Understanding Prevention, Amelioration and Resolution of Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases: The Short-Term and Long Term Outcomes. Institute of Medicine, The National Academies of Sciences Press. Washington DC. Pages A142-A166. (commissioned paper).

Nakamura, Y., Gotoh, T., Imanashi, S., Mita, K, Kurtti, T.J., Noda, H. 2011. Microarray analysis of silkworm cellular responses to infection with Wolbachia and Cardinium endosymbionts. Insect Mol Biol.

Baldridge, G. D., N. Y. Burkhardt, M. B. Labruna, R. C. Pacheco, C. D. Paddock, P. C. Williamson, P. M. Billingsley, R. F. Felsheim,T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2010. Wide dispersal and possible multiple origins of low-copy-number plasmids in Rickettsiaspecies associated with blood-feeding arthropods. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 76:1718-1731.

Baldridge, G. D., N. Y. Burkhardt, A. S. Oliva, T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2010. Rickettsial ompB promoter regulated expression of GFPuv in transformed Rickettsia montanensis. PLoS ONE 5:e8965.

Duh, D., V. Punda-Polic, T. Avsic-Zupanc, D. Bouyer, D. H. Walker, V. L. Popov, M. Jelovsek, M. Gracner, T. Trilar, N. Bradaric, T. J. Kurtti, and J. Strus. 2010. Rickettsia hoogstraalii sp. nov., isolated from hard- and soft-bodied ticks. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 60:977-984.

Felsheim, R. F., A. S. Chavez, G. H. Palmer, L. Crosby, A. F. Barbet, T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2010. Transformation ofAnaplasma marginale. Vet. Parasitol. 167:167-174.

Meyer, J. M., T. J. Kurtti, J. P. Van Zee, and C. A. Hill. 2010. Genome organization of major tandem repeats in the hard tick, Ixodes scapularis. Chromosome Res. 18:357-370.

Baldridge, G. D., G. A. Scoles, N. Y. Burkhardt, B. Schloeder, T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2009. Transovarial transmission ofFrancisella-like endosymbionts and Anaplasma phagocytophilum variants in Dermacentor albipictus (Acari: Ixodidae). J. Med. Entomol. 46:625-632.

Felsheim, R. F., T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2009. Genome sequence of the endosymbiont Rickettsia peacockii and comparison with virulent Rickettsia rickettsii: identification of virulence factors. PLoS ONE 4:e8361.

Baldridge, G. D., N. Y. Burkhardt, R. F. Felsheim, T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2008. Plasmids of the pRM/pRF family occur in diverse Rickettsia species. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74:645-652.

Esteves, E., F. A. Lara, D. M. Lorenzini, G. H. Costa, A. H. Fukuzawa, L. N. Pressinotti, J. R. Silva, J. A. Ferro, T. J. Kurtti, U. G. Munderloh, and S. Daffre. 2008. Cellular and molecular characterization of an embryonic cell line (BME26) from the tick Rhipicephalus(Boophilus) microplus. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 38:568-580.

Kurtti, T. J., and N. O. Keyhani. 2008. Intracellular infection of tick cell lines by the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Microbiology 154:1700-1709.

Kurtti, T. J., J. T. Mattila, M. J. Herron, R. F. Felsheim, G. D. Baldridge, N. Y. Burkhardt, B. R. Blazar, P. B. Hackett, J. M. Meyer, and U. G. Munderloh. 2008. Transgene expression and silencing in a tick cell line: A model system for functional tick genomics. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 38:963-968.

Nelson, C. M., M. J. Herron, R. F. Felsheim, B. R. Schloeder, S. M. Grindle, A. O. Chavez, T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2008. Whole genome transcription profiling of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in human and tick host cells by tiling array analysis. BMC Genomics 9:364.

Baldridge, G. D., N. Y. Burkhardt, R. F. Felsheim, T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2007. Transposon insertion reveals pRM, a plasmid of Rickettsia monacensis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73:4984-4995.

Baldridge, G. D., T. J. Kurtti, N. Burkhardt, A. S. Baldridge, C. M. Nelson, A. S. Oliva, and U. G. Munderloh. 2007. Infection of Ixodes scapularis ticks with Rickettsia monacensis expressing green fluorescent protein: a model system. J. Invertebr. Pathol. 94:163-174.

Massung, R. F., M. L. Levin, U. G. Munderloh, D. J. Silverman, M. J. Lynch, J. K. Gaywee, and T. J. Kurtti. 2007. Isolation and propagation of the Ap-Variant 1 strain of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in a tick cell line. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45:2138-2143.

Mattila, J. T., N. Y. Burkhardt, H. J. Hutcheson, U. G. Munderloh, and T. J. Kurtti. 2007. Isolation of cell lines and a rickettsial endosymbiont from the soft tick Carios capensis (Acari: Argasidae: Ornithodorinae). J. Med. Entomol. 44:1091-1101.

Mattila, J. T., U. G. Munderloh, and T. J. Kurtti. 2007. Phagocytosis of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, by cells from the ticks, Ixodes scapularis and Dermacentor andersoni, infected with an endosymbiont, Rickettsia peacockii. J. Insect Sci. 7:58.

Mattila, J. T., U. G. Munderloh, and T. J. Kurtti. 2007. Rickettsia peacockii, an endosymbiont of Dermacentor andersoni, does not elicit or inhibit humoral immune responses from immunocompetent D. andersoni or Ixodes scapularis cell lines. Dev. Comp. Immunol. 31:1095-1106.

Felsheim, R. F., M. J. Herron, C. M. Nelson, N. Y. Burkhardt, A. F. Barbet, T. J. Kurtti, and U. G. Munderloh. 2006. Transformation ofAnaplasma phagocytophilum. BMC Biotechnol. 6:42.

Massung, R. F., M. L. Levin, U. G. Munderloh, D. J. Silverman, M. J. Lynch, and T. J. Kurtti. 2006. Isolation of Anaplasma phagocytophilum strain Ap-variant 1 in a tick-derived cell line. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1078:541-544.

Morimoto, S., T. J. Kurtti, and H. Noda. 2006. In vitro cultivation and antibiotic susceptibility of a Cytophaga-like intracellular symbiote isolated from the tick Ixodes scapularis. Curr. Microbiol. 52:324-329.

Mukha, D. V., A. G. Chumachenko, M. J. Dykstra, T. J. Kurtti, and C. Schal. 2006. Characterization of a new densovirus infecting the German cockroach, Blattella germanica. J. Gen. Virol. 87:1567-1575.

Book Chapters:

Fallon, A.M. and Kurtti, T.J. 2005. Cultured cells as a tool for analysis of gene expression. In: Biology of Disease Vectors, eds. B.J. Beatty and W.C. Marquardt. Harcourt Academic Press, Inc., San Diego. Pp. 539-549.

Munderloh, UG, Jauron, SD, Kurtti, TJ. 2005. The tick: a different kind of host for human pathogens. In: Tickborne Diseases of Humans, eds. J. Goodman, D. Dennis, D. Sonenshine. ASM Press, Pp 37-64.

Students Advised