Project description:This experiment was undertaken to document changes in gene expression in the skin of tick-resistant Brahman (Bos indicus) and tick-susceptible Holstein-Friesian (Bos taurus) cattle prior to, and following, infestation with the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus Experiment Overall Design: RNA was extracted from skin samples of tick-naïve cattle (animals with no previous R.microplus exposure) and tick-infested cattle after a period of successive, heavy infestations with R. microplus. Skin samples taken from tick-infested animals were taken at sites where tick larvae (approximately 24 h old) were attached to the skin sample. Skin samples were of 8 mm diameter and full skin thickness (approximately 10 mm). RNA samples from 12 animals (3 tick-naive Holstein-Friesian, 3 tick-naive Brahman, 3 tick-infested Holstein-Friesian and 3 tick-infested Brahman) were processed and hybridised to individual slides.
Project description:This trial was undertaken to examine the perhipheral cellular and antibody response of cattle following infestation with the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus. The information from the Affymetrix gene expression data is used to complement other measurements of immune function such as cellular subset composition and antibody response in cattle of high (Brahman) and low (Holstein-Friesian) resistance to the cattle tick. Experiment Overall Design: RNA was extracted from white blood cells during a period of successive, heavy infestations with R. microplus. RNA samples from 3 Holstein-Friesian and 3 Brahman animals were analysed on individual slides.
