Analysis of the Salivary Gland Transcriptome of Unfed and Partially Fed Amblyomma sculptum Ticks and Descriptive Proteome of the Saliva.

ABSTRACT: Ticks are obligate blood feeding ectoparasites that transmit a wide variety of pathogenic microorganisms to their vertebrate hosts. Amblyomma sculptum is vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), the most lethal rickettsiosis that affects humans. It is known that the transmission of pathogens by ticks is mainly associated with the physiology of the feeding process. Pathogens that are acquired with the blood meal must first colonize the tick gut and later the salivary glands (SG) in order to be transmitted during a subsequent blood feeding via saliva. Tick saliva contains a complex mixture of bioactive molecules with anticlotting, antiplatelet aggregation, vasodilatory, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties to cou

SUBMITTER: Esteves E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5702332 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature