Deciphering Babesia-Vector Interactions

Antunes, Sandra; Rosa, Catarina; Couto, Joana; Ferrolho, Joana; Domingos, Ana

doi:10.3389/fcimb.2017.00429

Cited by 42 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(103 reference statements)

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“…Briefly, Babesia penetrates the tick midgut, undergoes meiosis, and differentiates into motile ookinetes that propagate via haemolymph to reach all tick organs. B. ovis kinetes reach SG within 48 h post-infestation, and they undergo a final step of multiplication to produce sporozoites (Moltmann et al, 1982a ; Antunes et al, 2017 ). Adult ticks are the main vector, and both females and males are implicated in the transmission of the hemoparasite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rhipicephalus bursa Sialotranscriptomic Response to Blood Feeding and Babesia ovis Infection: Identification of Candidate Protective Antigens

Antunes

Couto

Ferrolho

et al. 2018

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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Ticks are among the most prevalent blood-feeding arthropods, and they act as vectors and reservoirs for numerous pathogens. Sialotranscriptomic characterizations of tick responses to blood feeding and pathogen infections can offer new insights into the molecular interplay occurring at the tick-host-pathogen interface. In the present study, we aimed to identify and characterize Rhipicephalus bursa salivary gland (SG) genes that were differentially expressed in response to blood feeding and Babesia ovis infection. Our experimental approach consisted of RNA sequencing of SG from three different tick samples, fed-infected, fed-uninfected, and unfed-uninfected, for characterization and inter-comparison. Overall, 7,272 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were constructed from unfed-uninfected, 13,819 ESTs from fed-uninfected, and 15,292 ESTs from fed-infected ticks. Two catalogs of transcripts that were differentially expressed in response to blood feeding and B. ovis infection were produced. Four genes coding for a putative vitellogenin-3, lachesin, a glycine rich protein, and a secreted cement protein were selected for RNA interference functional studies. A reduction of 92, 65, and 51% was observed in vitellogenin-3, secreted cement, and lachesin mRNA levels in SG, respectively. The vitellogenin-3 knockdown led to increased tick mortality, with 77% of ticks dying post-infestation. The reduction of the secreted cement protein-mRNA levels resulted in 46% of ticks being incapable of correctly attaching to the host and significantly lower female weights post-feeding in comparison to the control group. The lachesin knockdown resulted in a 70% reduction of the levels associated with B. ovis infection in R. bursa SG and 70% mortality. These results improved our understanding of the role of tick SG genes in Babesia infection/proliferation and tick feeding. Moreover, lachesin, vitellogenin-3, and secreted cement proteins were validated as candidate protective antigens for the development of novel tick and tick-borne disease control measures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rhipicephalus bursa Sialotranscriptomic Response to Blood Feeding and Babesia ovis Infection: Identification of Candidate Protective Antigens

Antunes

Couto

Ferrolho

et al. 2018

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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“…The first infestation obviously provided the necessary stimuli and conditions for the development of Babesia into their infective stage within the ticks. Various mechanisms can be involved but are still unknown [ 22 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Babesia canis transmission in dogs within 24 h and 8 h of infestation with infected pre-activated male Dermacentor reticulatus ticks

2018

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BackgroundThis study was designed to assess the ability of fed male Dermacentor reticulatus ticks to transmit Babesia canis to dogs after being detached from previous canine or ovine hosts.MethodsThe study was an exploratory, parallel group design conducted in two trials. All the animals were sero-negative for babesiosis prior to enrolment. In a first trial, donor dogs and donor sheep were infested with Babesia canis infected male and uninfected female ticks for 72 h. The ticks were detached and the second group of host dogs were infested for 24 h before tick removal. In a second trial, the experiment was repeated but the donor animals were infested for 88 h and the second group of host dogs were infested for 8 h prior to tick removal. After infestation, the dogs were maintained under clinical surveillance and blood samples were collected for blood smear, IFA and PCR analysis. A dog was considered infected if any of these tests were positive.ResultsAll of the dogs (6 out of 6) were infected after being exposed to pre-activated male ticks for 24 h. Half of the dogs were infected after being exposed to pre-activated ticks for 8 h: 1 out of 3 dogs infested with ticks removed from sheep and 2 out of 3 dogs infested with ticks removed from dog. All the infected dogs were positive to blood smear, IFA and PCR. Three of these dogs exhibited elevated body temperature (> 39.4 °C).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the ability of male D. reticulatus to transmit B. canis to dogs. The study also illustrates for the first time that, regardless of the first host on which ticks may attach and start feeding, Babesia canis can be transmitted to dogs within 8 h of infestation. Since no minimal transmission time can be established for all possible natural situations, a strategy of prevention based on anti-attachment or repellency is recommended.

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“…The Babesia genus comprises apicomplexa parasites that are naturally transmitted by ixodids (63). However, the literature associates Babesia transmission with ticks from at least four genera: Rhipicephalus, Ixodes, Haemaphysalis, and Hyalomma (64)(65)(66). In Brazil, ticks belonging to the Amblyomma and Ixodes genera collected from small mammals were negative for Babesia pathogens (67).…”

Section: Tick-borne Associated Pathogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ticks and Associated Pathogens From Rescued Wild Animals in Rainforest Fragments of Northeastern Brazil

et al. 2020

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The Ixodidae family comprises ticks that are hematophagous ectoparasites and are considered vectors of several hemoparasites from the Anaplasmataceae family and the genus Hepatozoon, Babesia, and Rickettsia. These ectoparasites parasitize domestic and wild animals belonging to several vertebrate groups. Ticks are highly adapted to different biomes and thus possess a wide geographical distribution. In the Brazilian state of Bahia, localized in the Northeast region, there are large rainforest fragments. Studies have rarely been carried out on ticks, and their hemoparasites, that parasitize wild animals in this region. Thus, this study aimed to identify the tick species parasitizing wild animals rescued in rainforest fragments of Bahia and investigate the presence of hemoparasites in tick tissues. During a 2-year period, 238 ticks were collected from 41 wild mammalians, reptiles, and amphibians. These ectoparasites were taxonomically classified according to their morphological characteristics. The ticks identified belonged to five different species from the Ixodidae family: Amblyomma varium, Amblyomma rotundatum, Amblyomma nodosum, Ixodes loricatus, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus. For the first time, an A. rotundatum parasitizing the Mesoclemmys tuberculata turtle was described. PCR assays using DNA extracted from salivary glands or midgut of the ticks were performed to detect specific DNA fragments of hemoparasites from the genus Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Babesia, Hepatozoon, and from the Anaplasmataceae family. The results showed positive detection of the Rickettsia genus (7.9%), Anaplasmataceae family (15.8%), and Hepatozoon genus (15.8%). Specific DNA from the Ehrlichia and Babesia genera were not detected in these samples. Specific DNA from members of the Anaplasmataceae family was detected in A. varium for the first time. The present Fonseca et al. Ticks in Wild Animals work showed that amphibians, reptiles, and mammals from Bahia's Atlantic Forest areparasitized by different tick species, and that these ectoparasites present pathogens in their tissues that impact both humans and animals due to their zoonotic potential.

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Deciphering Babesia-Vector Interactions

Cited by 42 publications

References 78 publications

Rhipicephalus bursa Sialotranscriptomic Response to Blood Feeding and Babesia ovis Infection: Identification of Candidate Protective Antigens

Rhipicephalus bursa Sialotranscriptomic Response to Blood Feeding and Babesia ovis Infection: Identification of Candidate Protective Antigens

Early Babesia canis transmission in dogs within 24 h and 8 h of infestation with infected pre-activated male Dermacentor reticulatus ticks

Ticks and Associated Pathogens From Rescued Wild Animals in Rainforest Fragments of Northeastern Brazil

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