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24 October 2016 An In Vitro Blood-Feeding Method Revealed Differential Borrelia turicatae (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) Gene Expression After Spirochete Acquisition and Colonization in the Soft Tick Ornithodoros turicata (Acari: Argasidae)
Girish Neelakanta, Hameeda Sultana, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Richard T. Marconi
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Abstract

In the Midwestern, Southwestern, and Southern part of the United States, the soft tick Ornithodoros turicata transmits the spirochete Borrelia turicatae, the causative agent of relapsing fever in humans. In this study, we report a simplified and an efficient method of in vitro feeding to evaluate O. turicataB. turicatae interactions. Both nymphal and adult female ticks successfully acquired spirochetes upon in vitro feeding on the B. turicataeinfected blood. We also noted transstadial transmission of spirochetes to adult ticks that were molted from nymphs fed on B. turicatae-infected blood. A differential expression pattern for some of the B. turicatae genes was evident after acquisition and colonization of the vector. The levels of arthropod-associated lipoprotein Alp-mRNA were significantly upregulated and the mRNA levels of factor H binding protein FhbA and immunogenic protein BipA were significantly downregulated in the spirochetes after acquisition into ticks in comparison with spirochetes grown in culture medium. In addition, genes such as bta124 and bta116 were significantly upregulated in spirochetes in unfed ticks in comparison with the levels noted in spirochetes after acquisition. These findings represent an efficient in vitro blood-feeding method to study B. turicatae gene expression after acquisition and colonization in these ticks. In summary, we report that B. turicatae survive and develop in the tick host when acquired by in vitro feeding. We also report that B. turicatae genes are differentially expressed in ticks in comparison with the in vitro-grown cultures, indicating influence of tick environment on spirochete gene expression.

© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Girish Neelakanta, Hameeda Sultana, Daniel E. Sonenshine, and Richard T. Marconi "An In Vitro Blood-Feeding Method Revealed Differential Borrelia turicatae (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) Gene Expression After Spirochete Acquisition and Colonization in the Soft Tick Ornithodoros turicata (Acari: Argasidae)," Journal of Medical Entomology 54(2), 441-449, (24 October 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjw171
Received: 15 July 2016; Accepted: 20 September 2016; Published: 24 October 2016
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KEYWORDS
gene expression
relapsing fever
tick-borne disease
transstadial transmission
vector–pathogen interaction
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