Journal
MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY
Volume 26, Issue 1, Pages 92-102Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2915.2011.00973.x
Keywords
Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Ixodes scapularis; behaviour; stress; RNA interference
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) [BFU2008-01244/BMC]
- Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Grant [1669]
- Walter R. Sitlington Endowed Chair for Food Animal Research
- JAE-DOC (CSIC-FSE), Spain
- MICINN
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We characterized the effects of subolesin and heat shock protein (HSP) expression on Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae) stress responses to heat shock and feeding, questing behaviour and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) infection. Ticks and cultured tick cells were analysed before and after subolesin, hsp20 and hsp70 gene knock-down by RNA interference. The results of these studies confirm that HSPs are involved in the tick cell response to heat stress and that subolesin and HSPs are both involved in the tick response to blood-feeding stress and A. phagocytophilum infection. Subolesin and hsp20 are involved in the tick protective response to A. phagocytophilum infection and hsp70 expression may be manipulated by the pathogen to increase infectivity. Importantly, these results demonstrate that subolesin, hsp20 and hsp70 expression also affect tick questing behaviour. Overall, this research demonstrates a relationship between hsp and subolesin expression and tick stress responses to heat shock and blood feeding, A. phagocytophilum infection and questing behaviour, thereby extending our understanding of the tickhostpathogen interface.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available