Laboratory development of Dermacentor marginatus ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) at two temperatures

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background The Ixodid tick Dermacentor marginatus is a vector of many pathogens wide spread in Eurasia. Study of gene targets of the tick species provides insight to find novel tick protective antigen for drug development and vaccine targets. Methods To obtain a broader picture of gene sequences and changes in expression level, the RNA-seq was performed to obtain the whole-body transcriptome data of D. marginatus adult female ticks after engorgement and long-term starvation. Subsequently, the real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was applied to validate the RNA-seq data. Results The RNA-seq produced 30251 unigenes, of which 32% were annotated using Trinity. Gene expression was compared among groups differed by status as newly molted, starved and engorged female adult ticks. Nearly 1/3 of the unigenes in each group were differentially expressed compared to the other two group, and the most numerous were genes encoding proteins involved in catalytic and binding activities and apoptosis. Selected up-regulated differentially expressed genes in each group associated to protein, lipids, carbohydrate and chitin metabolism. Blood feeding and long-term starvation also caused genes differentially expressed in the defense response and antioxidant response. RT-qPCR results indicated 6 differentially expressed transcripts showed similar trends in expression changes with RNA-seq results confirming that the gene expression profiles in transcriptome data is in consistent with RT-qPCR validation. Conclusions Obtaining the sequence information of D. marginatus and characterizing the expression pattern of the genes involved in blood feeding and during starvation would be helpful in understanding molecular physiology of D. marginatus and provides data for anti-tick vaccine and drug development for controlling the tick.

Section: Tick Rearingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Differential Gene Expression Pro Lesmentioning

confidence: 99%

De Novo Assembly and Analysis of Transcriptome of the Dermacentor Marginatus Genes Differentially Expressed After Blood Feeding and Long-term Starvation

et al. 2020

Preprint

“…Ticks were reared under controlled experimental conditions of temperature (24 ± 1℃), relative humidity (RH; 90 ± 5%) and photoperiod (14 h light: 10 h dark). The purpose of the RNA-seq analysis was to obtain gene sequences and identify differentially expressed genes of D. marginatus female adults after blood feeding and long-term starvation regarding the signi cant role of female adult that plays in feeding large amount of blood and producing thousands of eggs per individual [35]. Another reason choosing females only for the RNA-seq analysis was to minimize the gene expression difference pro led by sexual distinction [36,37].…”

Section: Tick Rearingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is considered that H tick representing starved ticks experienced 6 months non-feeding period exhausting its energy sources of lipid, carbohydrate, and protein, whereas M tick stands for newly molted ticks of which physiological status was at its prime with many of the energy metabolism-related genes down-regulated [18]. After mating, a D. marginatus female adult could ingest over 100-fold on its body weight in blood [35]. The blood meal was digested and the nutrients were transported and mostly used for embryogenesis [27].…”

Section: Differential Gene Expression Pro Lesmentioning

confidence: 99%

De novo assembly and analysis of the transcriptome of the Dermacentor marginatus genes differentially expressed after blood feeding and long-term starvation

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background: The ixodid tick Dermacentor marginatus is a vector of many pathogens wide spread in Eurasia. Studies of gene sequence on many tick species have greatly increased the information on tick protective antigen which might have the potential to function as effective vaccine candidates or drug targets for eco-friendly acaricide development. In the current study, RNA-seq was applied to identify D. marginatus sequences and analyze differentially expressed unigenes.Methods: To obtain a broader picture of gene sequences and changes in expression level, RNA-seq was performed to obtain the whole-body transcriptome data of D. marginatus adult female ticks after engorgement and long-term starvation. Subsequently, the real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was applied to validate the RNA-seq data.Results: RNA-seq produced 30,251 unigenes, of which 32% were annotated. Gene expression was compared among groups that differed by status as newly molted, starved and engorged female adult ticks. Nearly 1/3 of the unigenes in each group were differentially expressed compared to the other two groups, and the most numerous were genes encoding proteins involved in catalytic and binding activities and apoptosis. Selected up-regulated differentially expressed genes in each group were associated to protein, lipids, carbohydrate and chitin metabolism. Blood-feeding and long-term starvation also caused genes differentially expressed in the defense response and antioxidant response. RT-qPCR results indicated 6 differentially expressed transcripts showed similar trends in expression changes with RNA-seq results confirming that the gene expression profiles in transcriptome data is in consistent with RT-qPCR validation.Conclusions: Obtaining the sequence information of D. marginatus and characterizing the expression pattern of the genes involved in blood feeding and during starvation would be helpful in understanding molecular physiology of D. marginatus and provides data for anti-tick vaccine and drug development for controlling the tick.

“…It is considered that H tick represents starved ticks that experienced 6 months non-feeding period exhausting its energy sources of lipid, carbohydrate, and protein, whereas M tick stands for newly molted ticks with a physiological status at its prime with many of the energy metabolism-related genes downregulated [18]. After mating, a D. marginatus female adult could ingest over 100-fold on its body weight in blood [35]. The blood meal is digested and the nutrients are transported and mostly used for embryogenesis [27].…”

Section: Differential Gene Expression Pro Lesmentioning

confidence: 99%

De novo assembly and analysis of the transcriptome of the Dermacentor marginatus genes differentially expressed after blood-feeding and long-term starvation

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background: The ixodid tick Dermacentor marginatus is a vector of many pathogens wide spread in Eurasia. Studies of gene sequence on many tick species have greatly increased the information on tick protective antigen which might have the potential to function as effective vaccine candidates or drug targets for eco-friendly acaricide development. In the current study, RNA-seq was applied to identify D. marginatus sequences and analyze differentially expressed unigenes.Methods: To obtain a broader picture of gene sequences and changes in expression level, RNA-seq was performed to obtain the whole-body transcriptome data of D. marginatus adult female ticks after engorgement and long-term starvation. Subsequently, the real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was applied to validate the RNA-seq data.Results: RNA-seq produced 30,251 unigenes, of which 32% were annotated. Gene expression was compared among groups that differed by status as newly molted, starved and engorged female adult ticks. Nearly one third of the unigenes in each group were differentially expressed compared to the other two groups, and the most numerous were genes encoding proteins involved in catalytic and binding activities and apoptosis. Selected up-regulated differentially expressed genes in each group were associated to protein, lipids, carbohydrate and chitin metabolism. Blood-feeding and long-term starvation also caused genes differentially expressed in the defense response and antioxidant response. RT-qPCR results indicated 6 differentially expressed transcripts showed similar trends in expression changes with RNA-seq results confirming that the gene expression profiles in transcriptome data is in consistent with RT-qPCR validation.Conclusions: Obtaining the sequence information of D. marginatus and characterizing the expression pattern of the genes involved in blood-feeding and during starvation would be helpful in understanding molecular physiology of D. marginatus and provides data for anti-tick vaccine and drug development for controlling the tick.