ARS | Publication request: Microarray analysis of acaricide inducible gene expression in the southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Submitted to: Insect Molecular Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 16, 2008
Publication Date: December 11, 2008
Citation: Saldivar, L., Guerrero, F.D., Miller, R.J., Bendele, K.G., Gondo, C., Brayton, K.A. 2008. Microarray analysis of acaricide inducible gene expression in the southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Insect Molecular Biology. 17(6):597-606.

Interpretive Summary: We designed a set of experiments to examine genes of the southern cattle tick, Rhipicelphalus (Boophilus) microplus, emphasizing those genes which varied their level of expression in response to acaricide exposure. The acaricides used were coumaphos, permethrin, ivermectin, and amitraz, and these were applied in low doses to the tick's larval stage. Gene expression was quantified by using microarrays containing over 13,000 gene probes derived from a previously described R. microplus gene database acquired and analyzed at our laboratory. Among the differentially expressed genes were legumain, a gene involved in digestion of the tick's bloodmeal, glutathione S-transferase, a member of a family of enzymes which metabolize exogenous chemicals, and a gene with DNA sequence similarity to a tick salivary gland-associated protein.

Technical Abstract: Acaricide-inducible differential gene expression was studied in larvae of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus using a microarray-based approach. The acaricides used were: coumaphos, permethrin, ivermectin, and amitraz. The microarrays contained over 13,000 probes, having been derived from a previously described R. microplus gene index (BmiGI Version 2; Wang et al., 2007). Relative quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR and serial analysis of gene expression data was used to verify microarray data. Among the differentially expressed genes with informative annotation were legumain, glutathione S-transferase, and a putative salivary gland-associated protein.