Identification of Genes Associated with Resistance to Persulcatusin, a Tick Defensin from Ixodes persulcatus
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SUBMITTER: Shimoda S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10892762 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Ixodes persulcatus (tick) genome assembly
| PRJEB67789 | ENA
Project description:Ixodes persulcatus (tick), genomic data
| PRJEB67779 | ENA
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC3376769 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Ixodes persulcatus is a species of hard tick which is a predominant tick species that spreads a wide array of serious human and animal pathogens. Here, we first assemble the complete mitogenome of I. persulcatus of China. The total length of the mitogenome was 14,539 bp included 36 genes and with a mitogenome structure similar to other ticks. Phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the complete mitogenome of I. persulcatus and closely related 19 species ticks to assess their phylogenic relationship and evolution. We also analyze the differences between the mitogenomes of I. persulcatus of Japan and China. The complete mitogenome data would be useful for further study of I. persulcatus.
| S-EPMC7800817 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:The common tick Ixodes ricinus and the taiga tick I. persulcatus are the main tick vectors of Borrelia spirochaetes, TBE virus (TBEV) and of several other zoonotic pathogens in the western and eastern areas, respectively of the Palaearctic region. Recently, populations of the taiga tick were, for the first time, detected in northern Sweden. This prompted us to investigate if they harbour human pathogens. METHODS:A total of 276 I. persulcatus ticks (136 males, 126 females and 14 nymphs) and one I. ricinus nymph was collected by the cloth-dragging method in northern Sweden in July-August 2015 and May-July 2016. In addition, 8 males and 10 females of I. persulcatus were collected from two dogs (16 and 2 ticks, respectively) in two of the localities. All ticks were microscopically and molecularly identified to developmental stage and species and screened for B. burgdorferi (sensu lato), B. miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Babesia spp. and TBEV using real-time PCR followed by species identification by sequencing the PCR-products of conventional PCR assays. RESULTS:Of the ticks collected by the cloth-dragging method, 55% (152/277) were positive for Borrelia. There was no significant difference between the proportions of Borrelia-infected nymphs (33%, 5/15) and Borrelia-infected adult ticks (56%, 147/262), and no significant difference between the proportions of Borrelia-infected males (54%, 74/136) and Borrelia-infected females (58%, 73/126). Three different Borrelia species were identified. Borrelia afzelii was the predominant species and detected in 46% of all Borrelia-infected ticks followed by B. garinii, 35%, B. valaisiana, 1%, and mixed infections of different Borrelia species, 1%; 17% of all Borrelia-infections were untypeable. One I. persulcatus female contained Rickettsia helvetica, and one nymph contained Rickettsia sp. Of the 277 ticks analysed, all were negative for A. phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., Borrelia miyamotoi, N. mikurensis and TBEV. The ticks collected from the two dogs were negative for all pathogens examined except for Borrelia spp., that was detected in 5 out of 16 ticks removed from one of the dogs. CONCLUSIONS:To our knowledge, this is the first time that I. persulcatus from Sweden has been analysed for the presence of tick-borne pathogens. The examined tick populations had a low diversity of tick-borne pathogens but a high prevalence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.).
| S-EPMC6882324 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A national crowdsourcing-based tick collection campaign was organized in 2015 with the objective of producing novel data on tick distribution and tick-borne pathogens in Finland. Nearly 20 000 Ixodes ticks were collected. The collected material revealed the nationwide distribution of I. persulcatus for the first time and a shift northwards in the distribution of I. ricinus in Finland. A subset of 2038 tick samples containing both species was screened for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (the prevalence was 14.2% for I. ricinus and 19.8% for I. persulcatus), B. miyamotoi (0.2% and 0.4%, respectively) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV; 0.2% and 3.0%, respectively). We also report new risk areas for TBEV in Finland and, for the first time, the presence of B. miyamotoi in ticks from mainland Finland. Most importantly, our study demonstrates the overwhelming power of citizen science in accomplishing a collection effort that would have been impossible with the scientific community alone.
| S-EPMC5584484 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHard ticks act as arthropod vectors in the transmission of human and animal pathogens and are widely distributed in northern China. The aim of this study is to screen the important tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) carried by hard ticks in Inner Mongolia using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and to estimate the risk of human infection imposed by tick bites.MethodsThe adult Dermacentor nuttalli (n = 203) and Ixodes persulcatus (n = 36) ticks feeding on cattle were collected. The pooled DNA samples prepared from these ticks were sequenced as the templates for mNGS to survey the presence of TBPs at the genus level. Individual tick DNA samples were detected by genus--specific or group-specific nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of these TBPs and combined with DNA sequencing assay to confirm the results of mNGS.ResultsR. raoultii (45.32%, 92/203), Candidatus R. tarasevichiae (5.42%, 11/203), Anaplasma sp. Mongolia (26.60%, 54/203), Coxiella-like endosymbiont (CLE) (53.69%, 109/203), and Babesia venatorum (7.88%, 16/203) were detected in D. nuttalli, while R. raoultii (30.56%, 11/36), Anaplasma sp. Mongolia (27.80%, 10/36), and CLE (27.80%, 10/36) were detected in I. persulcatus. The double- and triple-pathogen/endosymbiont co-infections were detected in 40.39% of D. nuttalli and 13.89% of I. persulcatus, respectively. The dual co-infection with R. raoultii and CLE (14.29%, 29/203) and triple co-infection with R. raoultii, Anaplasma sp. Mongolia, and CLE (13.79%, 28/203) were most frequent in D. nuttalli.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the microbial diversity of D. nuttalli and I. persulcatus in Inner Mongolia, China, reporting for the first time that Candidatus R. tarasevichiae had been found in D. nuttalli in China, and for the first time in the world that Anaplasma sp. Mongolia has been detected in I. persulcatus. This study proves that various vertically transmitted pathogens co-inhabit D. nuttalli and I. persulcatus, and indicates that cattle in Inner Mongolia are exposed to several TBPs.
| S-EPMC8161991 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe tick species Ixodes ricinus and I. persulcatus are of exceptional medical importance in the western and eastern parts, respectively, of the Palaearctic region. In Russia and Finland the range of I. persulcatus has recently increased. In Finland the first records of I. persulcatus are from 2004. The apparent expansion of its range in Finland prompted us to investigate if I. persulcatus also occurs in Sweden.MethodsDog owners and hunters in the coastal areas of northern Sweden provided information about localities where ticks could be present. In May-August 2015 we used the cloth-dragging method in 36 localities potentially harbouring ticks in the Bothnian Bay area, province Norrbotten (NB) of northern Sweden. Further to the south in the provinces Västerbotten (VB) and Uppland (UP) eight localities were similarly investigated.ResultsIxodes persulcatus was detected in 9 of 36 field localities in the Bothnian Bay area. Nymphs, adult males and adult females (n = 46 ticks) of I. persulcatus were present mainly in Alnus incana - Sorbus aucuparia - Picea abies - Pinus sylvestris vegetation communities on islands in the Bothnian Bay. Some of these I. persulcatus populations seem to be the most northerly populations so far recorded of this species. Dog owners asserted that their dogs became tick-infested on these islands for the first time 7-8 years ago. Moose (Alces alces), hares (Lepus timidus), domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and ground-feeding birds are the most likely carriers dispersing I. persulcatus in this area. All ticks (n = 124) from the more southern provinces of VB and UP were identified as I. ricinus.ConclusionsThe geographical range of the taiga tick has recently expanded into northern Sweden. Increased information about prophylactic, anti-tick measures should be directed to people living in or visiting the coastal areas and islands of the Baltic Bay.
| S-EPMC5116163 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Ixodes rici nus and Ixodes persulcatus ticks are the main vectors of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which has three main subtypes connected with certain tick species: the European subtype, associated with I. ricinus, and the Siberian and Far-Eastern subtypes, associated with I. persulcatus. Distribution ranges of these species overlap and form large sympatric areas in the East European Plain and Baltic countries. It has previously been shown that crossing of I. ricinus and I. persulcatus is possible, with the appearance of sterile hybrids. Hybridization of ticks can affect not only the spread of ticks but also the properties of natural foci of arbovirus infections, in particular TBEV. In the present study, we analyzed the effectiveness of virus transmission from infected mice to larvae and nymphs and trans-stadial transmission (from larvae to nymph and adult) in I. ricinus, I. persulcatus, and hybrids. For this purpose, we bred a hybrid generation from the crossing of I. persulcatus females and I. ricinus males, and we used the Siberian and European subtypes of TBEV. We showed that after feeding on infected mice, virus prevalence in engorged ticks decreased over time, and after molting, the opposite was true. In hybrids we observed the highest acquisition effectiveness and RNA copy numbers during Siberian TBEV subtype transmission. The efficiency of trans-stadial transmission of both TBEV subtypes was similar in hybrids and parental species. After the second trans-stadial TBEV transmission, a significant increase in ticks' infection rates was observed only in specific subtype-tick combination. Our data demonstrate the possible features of TBEV circulation in the I. ricinus and I. persulcatus sympatry area.
| S-EPMC9895388 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAntimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered promising candidates for the development of novel anti-infective agents. In arthropods such as ticks, AMPs form the first line of defense against pathogens in the innate immune response. Persulcatusin (IP) was found in the Ixodes persulcatus midgut, and its amino acid sequence was reported. However, the complete structure of IP has not been identified. We evaluated the relation between structural features and antimicrobial activity of IP, and its potential as a new anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) agent.MethodsThe structure of IP was predicted using homology modeling and molecular dynamics. IP and other tick AMPs were synthesized using a solid-phase method and purified by high-performance liquid chromatography. Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and MRSA were used for the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test and short-time killing assay of IP and other tick peptides. The influence of IP on mammalian fibroblasts and colon epithelial cells and each cell DNA and its hemolytic activity towards human erythrocytes were also examined.ResultsIn the predicted IP structure, the structure with an S-S bond was more stable than that without an S-S bond. The MIC after 24 h of incubation with IP was 0.156-1.25 μg/mL for MSSA and 0.625-2.5 μg/mL for MRSA. Compared with the mammalian antimicrobial peptide and other tick peptides, IP was highly effective against MRSA. Moreover, IP showed a dose-dependent bactericidal effect on both MSSA and MRSA after 1 h of incubation. IP had no observable effect on mammalian cell growth or morphology, on each cell DNA and on human erythrocytes.ConclusionsWe predicted the three-dimensional structure of IP and found that the structural integrity was maintained by three S-S bonds, which were energetically important for the stability and for forming α helix and β sheet. IP has cationic and amphipathic properties, which might be related to its antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of IP against MRSA was stronger than that of other antimicrobial peptides without apparent damage to mammalian and human cells, demonstrating its possible application as a new anti-MRSA medicine.
| S-EPMC4752739 | biostudies-literature