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ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » LAPRU » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #321472
Research Project: Cattle Fever Tick Control and Eradication

Location: Livestock Arthropod Pests Research

Title: Gene's Organ Transcriptome of the southern Cattle Fever Tick, Rhipicephalus microplus

Author
item Tidwell, Jason
item Thomas, Donald
item VITEK, CHRISTOPHER - The University Of Texas-Pan American
item GILKERSON, ROBERT - The University Of Texas-Pan American
item Perez De Leon, Adalberto - Beto
item TERRY, MATTHEW - The University Of Texas-Pan American

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/13/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The southern cattle fever tick (SCFT), Rhipicephalus microplus, is considered the most economically important ectoparasite of livestock worldwide and ranks sixth among the most pesticide resistant arthropods globally. This one-host hard tick is a vector of the infectious agents causing bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis. The estimated impact of these SCFT-borne diseases on the livestock industry worldwide is approximately $7 billion annually. This genomics project focused on the Gene's organ and addresses the need to identify novel targets that can serve as the basis for sustainable SCFT control strategies. Wax secreted by the Gene's organ during oviposition protects the eggs from desiccation, bacterial and fungal infections, inorganic chemicals, and pesticides. Full development of the Gene's organ occurs until the female tick is close to full engorgement. RNA was purified from undeveloped and developed Gene's organs. The transcriptome of each Gene's organ set was sequenced using next generation sequencing with de novo assembly. A total of 22,199 putative unigenes with 17,531 singletons were identified for the undeveloped Gene's organ. For the developed Gene's organ, 15,374 putative unigenes with 12,242 singletons were detected. A comparison of the two transcriptomes through quantitative RNA-seq analysis revealed 5,454 differentially expressed transcripts. The altered expression levels of the genes were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. This is the first transcriptome analysis of the Gene's organ in R. microplus. Functional genomic studies are planned to evaluate the Gene's organ as a target to disrupt SCFT biology.