Transcriptomic profiling of the digestive tract of the rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, following blood feeding and infection with Yersinia pestis.

ABSTRACT: Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a highly lethal pathogen transmitted by the bite of infected fleas. Once ingested by a flea, Y. pestis establish a replicative niche in the gut and produce a biofilm that promotes foregut colonization and transmission. The rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis is an important vector to several zoonotic bacterial pathogens including Y. pestis. Some fleas naturally clear themselves of infection; however, the physiological and immunological mechanisms by which this occurs are largely uncharacterized. To address this, RNA was extracted, sequenced, and distinct transcript profiles were assembled de novo from X. cheopis digestive tracts isolated from fleas that were either: 1) not fed for 5 days; 2) fed sterile blood; or 3) fed blood containing ~5x108 CFU

SUBMITTER: Bland DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7526888 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature