PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Blood-feeding behavior has independently evolved in arthropods multiple times. Unlike hard ticks, soft ticks employ a rapid-feeding strategy for hematophagy, and there are comparatively limited studies on the transcriptomes of these organisms. This study investigates the soft tick Ornithodoros hermsi, conducting histopathological examinations at bitten skin sites and tick whole-body transcriptomic analyses across various developmental and feeding stages, including larvae, 1st-nymphal, and 2nd-nymphal stages. The results revealed the ability of O. hermsi to induce skin hemorrhage at the bite sites. Transcriptomic analyses identified three consistent transcriptional profiles: unfed, early-fed (6 h, 12 h, 24 h), and late-fed (5 days). The unfed profile exhibited high transcriptional activity across most of the functional classes annotated. In contrast, early-fed stages exhibited decreased expression of most functional classes, except for the unknown, which is highly expressed. Finally, transcriptional expression of most functional classes increased in the late-fed groups, resembling the baseline expression observed in the unfed groups. These findings highlight intense pre-feeding transcriptional activity in O. hermsi ticks, aligning with their rapid-feeding strategy. Moreover, besides shedding light on the temporal dynamics of key pathways during blood meal processing and tick development, this study contributes significantly to the transcriptome repertoire of a medically relevant soft tick species with relatively limited prior knowledge.
摘要：
节肢动物的采血行为已经独立进化多次。不像硬蜱，软蜱采用快速喂养策略治疗血液吞噬，对这些生物的转录组的研究相对有限。本研究调查了软tick鸟巢，在咬伤的皮肤部位进行组织病理学检查，并在各个发育阶段和进食阶段进行整体转录组学分析，包括幼虫,第一若虫，和第二若虫阶段。结果揭示了O.hermsi在咬伤部位引起皮肤出血的能力。转录组学分析确定了三个一致的转录谱：未进食，早期喂养(6小时，12h,24h),和后期喂养（5天）。在大多数注释的功能类别中，未喂食的谱表现出很高的转录活性。相比之下,早期进食阶段表现出大多数功能类别的表达减少，除了未知，这是高度表达的。最后,大多数功能类的转录表达在晚食组中增加，与未进食组观察到的基线表达相似。这些发现强调了O.hermsi蜱中强烈的摄食前转录活性，与他们的快速喂养策略保持一致。此外，除了阐明血粉加工和蜱虫发育过程中关键途径的时间动态，这项研究对医学相关的软蜱物种的转录组库做出了重要贡献，而先验知识相对有限。
