Comparative microarray analysis of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus expression profiles of larvae pre-attachment and feeding adult female stages on Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle

Abstract

BackgroundRhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is an obligate blood feeder which is host specific to cattle. Existing knowledge pertaining to the host or host breed effects on tick transcript expression profiles during the tick - host interaction is poor.ResultsGlobal analysis of gene expression changes in whole R. microplus ticks during larval, pre-attachment and early adult stages feeding on Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle were compared using gene expression microarray analysis. Among the 13,601 R. microplus transcripts from BmiGI Version 2 we identified 297 high and 17 low expressed transcripts that were significantly differentially expressed between R. microplus feeding on tick resistant cattle [Bos indicus (Brahman)] compared to R. microplus feeding on tick susceptible cattle [Bos taurus (Holstein-Friesian)] (p ≤ 0.001). These include genes encoding enzymes involved in primary metabolism, and genes related to stress, defence, cell wall modification, cellular signaling, receptor, and cuticle formation. Microarrays were validated by qRT-PCR analysis of selected transcripts using three housekeeping genes as normalization controls.ConclusionThe analysis of all tick stages under survey suggested a coordinated regulation of defence proteins, proteases and protease inhibitors to achieve successful attachment and survival of R. microplus on different host breeds, particularly Bos indicus cattle. R. microplus ticks demonstrate different transcript expression patterns when they encounter tick resistant and susceptible breeds of cattle. In this study we provide the first transcriptome evidence demonstrating the influence of tick resistant and susceptible cattle breeds on transcript expression patterns and the molecular physiology of ticks during host attachment and feeding.The microarray data used in this analysis have been submitted to NCBI GEO database under accession number GSE20605 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE20605.

Transcriptome and toxin family analysis of the paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus

“…The primary line of host defense also relies on complex hemostatic and immunological responses of the host against ectoparasites. For example, ticks counteract the host response and successfully survive attached to the skin of their host via the secretion of a complex mixture of molecules present in tick saliva (Rodriguez-Valle et al, 2010;Chmelar, 2016;Xu et al, 2016). Host -parasite interactions have been studied using proteomic and transcriptomic analyses of economically important ticks such as A. americanus (Aljamali et al, 2009), D. andersoni (Alarcon-Chaidez, 2007, Ixodes pacificus (Francischetti et al, 2005), Rhipicephalus microplus (Rodriguez- Valle et al, 2010), and others.…”

“…For example, ticks counteract the host response and successfully survive attached to the skin of their host via the secretion of a complex mixture of molecules present in tick saliva (Rodriguez-Valle et al, 2010;Chmelar, 2016;Xu et al, 2016). Host -parasite interactions have been studied using proteomic and transcriptomic analyses of economically important ticks such as A. americanus (Aljamali et al, 2009), D. andersoni (Alarcon-Chaidez, 2007, Ixodes pacificus (Francischetti et al, 2005), Rhipicephalus microplus (Rodriguez- Valle et al, 2010), and others. These reports concluded that tick proteins secreted into the tick's attachment site inhibit host hemostatic and immunological responses by diverse mechanisms (Francischetti et al, 2009) sequences which leads to important structural modifications that affect their specific functions (Schwarz et al, 2014;Chmelar, 2016).…”

“…The parasitic stage of the tick life cycle is initiated when feeding larvae overcome the host's hemostatic and immunological responses (Rodriguez-Valle et al, 2010. Tick saliva mediates the disruption of host defenses through a complex mixture of molecules such as serine protease inhibitors, proteases and lipocalins (Francischetti et al, 2009;Rodriguez-Valle et al, 2010;Ribeiro et al, 2011). Additionally, the saliva of some tick species have venomous characteristics due to the presence of toxins that induce host paralysis (Masina and Broady, 1999;.…”

“…They impair the health of livestock, pets and humans directly via blood loss, or indirectly as vectors of tick-borne diseases (Jongejan and Uilenberg, 2004). The parasitic stage of the tick life cycle is initiated when feeding larvae overcome the host's hemostatic and immunological responses (Rodriguez-Valle et al, 2010. Tick saliva mediates the disruption of host defenses through a complex mixture of molecules such as serine protease inhibitors, proteases and lipocalins (Francischetti et al, 2009;Rodriguez-Valle et al, 2010;Ribeiro et al, 2011).…”

Tick Cell Lines for Study of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus and Other Arboviruses

“…Novel high-throughput sequencing techniques allow generation of qualitative and quantitative information on unknown transcriptomes, in addition to gene array-based analysis. This has been successfully used to study transcriptional changes induced by blood-feeding in tick larvae (Rodriguez-Valle et al 2010). It will be interesting to analyze whether arbovirus infection of ticks and tick cells leads to differential regulation of numerous pathways and genes as seen in mosquitoes and which of them in particular, in addition to RNAi, mediate antiviral activity.…”