Transcriptomic analysis of the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, across all stages of the lifecycle

Abstract

Background The blood feeding poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae, causes substantial economic damage to the egg laying industry worldwide, and is a serious welfare concern for laying hens and poultry house workers. In this study we have investigated the temporal gene expression across the 6 stages/sexes (egg, larvae, protonymph and deutonymph, adult male and adult female) of this neglected parasite in order to understand the temporal expression associated with development, parasitic lifestyle, reproduction and allergen expression. Results RNA-seq transcript data for the 6 stages were mapped to the PRM genome creating a publicly available gene expression atlas (on the OrcAE platform in conjunction with the PRM genome). Network analysis and clustering of stage-enriched gene expression in PRM resulted in 17 superclusters with stage-specific or multi-stage expression profiles. The 6 stage specific superclusters were clearly demarked from each other and the adult female supercluster contained the most stage specific transcripts (2725), whilst the protonymph supercluster the fewest (165). Fifteen pairwise comparisons performed between the different stages resulted in a total of 6025 Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) (P > 0.99). These data were evaluated alongside a Venn/Euler analysis of the top 100 most abundant genes in each stage. An expanded set of cuticle proteins and enzymes (chitinase and metallocarboxypeptidases) were identified in larvae and underpin cuticle formation and ecdysis to the protonymph stage. Two mucin/peritrophic-A salivary proteins (DEGAL6771g00070, DEGAL6824g00220) were highly expressed in the blood-feeding stages, indicating peritrophic membrane formation during feeding. Reproduction-associated vitellogenins were the most abundant transcripts in adult females whilst, in adult males, an expanded set of serine and cysteine proteinases and an epididymal protein (DEGAL6668g00010) were highly abundant. Assessment of the expression patterns of putative homologues of 32 allergen groups from house dust mites indicated a bias in their expression towards the non-feeding larval stage of PRM. Conclusions This study is the first evaluation of temporal gene expression across all stages of PRM and has provided insight into developmental, feeding, reproduction and survival strategies employed by this mite. The publicly available PRM resource on OrcAE offers a valuable tool for researchers investigating the biology and novel interventions of this parasite.

In Vitro Acaricidal Activity of Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) against the Poultry Red Mite (Dermanyssus gallinae)

“…Mites have an exoskeleton that contains chitin, and in adults, this chitin creates a sclerotized cuticle layer that is rigid, outlines their body structure, and helps with muscle connection [ 19 ]. Inside their bodies, PRM have a digestive system containing a peritrophic membrane that also consists of chitin and aids blood digestion [ 19 , 50 ]. The inhibition or binding of chitin in this membrane has been successfully employed to control other mite species [ 19 ], and in PRM, the use of the chitin-inhibitor triflumuron under field conditions caused a mite reduction of more than 70% for five months [ 51 ].…”

Integrative assessment of the transcriptome and virome of the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae

“…Despite D. gallinae being a global and highly debilitating poultry pest, the availability of high-throughput data and experimental platforms is lacking, with only rare exceptions 24,99,100 . We have previously used Illumina RNA-seq data to describe transcriptomes of several tissues of the tick I. ricinus 101-103 .…”

Population dynamics of a poultry hematophagous mite: characterization of the population growth and identification of factors of its slowdown using closed mesocosms

“…Previous genotyping of several successive batches of dozens of mites randomly sampled at different locations and times in farm DIN showed that the poultry red mites that develop in this farm only belong to D. gallinae s.s. (more precisely, 100% of the genotyped individuals carried haplotypes of the haplogroup C, very common in French layer farms). 27 Selection of mites to be inoculated into the mesocosms was performed under a stereomicroscope, retaining the largest mites to form a 100% female inoculum as in Bartley et al 28 Only live and active mites were collected, using a P1000 filter pipette tip connected to a vacuum pump. The tips were then sealed with parafilm.…”