| ixodes ricinus tick lipocalins: identification, cloning, phylogenetic analysis and biochemical characterization. | during their blood meal, ticks secrete a wide variety of proteins that interfere with their host's defense mechanisms. among these proteins, lipocalins play a major role in the modulation of the inflammatory response. | 2008 | 19096708 |
| fine-scale phylogeographic structure of borrelia lusitaniae revealed by multilocus sequence typing. | borrelia lusitaniae is an old world species of the lyme borreliosis (lb) group of tick-borne spirochetes and prevails mainly in countries around the mediterranean basin. lizards of the family lacertidae have been identified as reservoir hosts of b. lusitaniae. these reptiles are highly structured geographically, indicating limited migration. in order to examine whether host geographic structure shapes the evolution and epidemiology of b. lusitaniae, we analyzed the phylogeographic population str ... | 2008 | 19104655 |
| use of tick surveys and serosurveys to evaluate pet dogs as a sentinel species for emerging lyme disease. | to evaluate dogs as a sentinel species for emergence of lyme disease in a region undergoing invasion by ixodes scapularis. | 2009 | 19119948 |
| differential expression of the tick protective antigen subolesin in anaplasma marginale- and a. phagocytophilum-infected host cells. | subolesin was recently shown in vaccine and rna interference (rnai) studies to protect against tick infestations and to affect tick feeding, reproduction, and development as well as infection of host cells by anaplasma marginale and a. phagocytophilum. recent experiments provided evidence that infection of both tick and vertebrate host cells with these two pathogens modified gene expression. we therefore hypothesized that infection of host cells with a. marginale and a. phagocytophilum affects e ... | 2008 | 19120168 |
| defining the role of subolesin in tick cell culture by use of rna interference. | development of tick vaccines provides new opportunities for control of tick infestations and tick-borne diseases. recently, the tick-protective protein, subolesin, was identified in a cell line derived from ixodes scapularis by expression library immunization and a mouse model of tick infestations. while subolesin was conserved among ixodid tick species, the biological function of this gene is unknown. subolesin expression in ticks was silenced by rna interference (rnai) to provide information o ... | 2008 | 19120170 |
| efficacy of the new repellent bioud against three species of ixodid ticks. | bioud with the active ingredient 2-undecanone originally derived from wild tomato plants is a new repellent recently registered by the us epa. repellent efficacy of bioud (7.75% 2-undecanone) and deet (98.11%) was examined in the laboratory using a choice test between repellent-treated and control filter paper surfaces for amblyomma americanum, dermacentor variabilis, and ixodes scapularis. bioud provided greater repellency against a. americanum and i. scapularis than deet. no difference was fou ... | 2009 | 19140016 |
| positive selection in tick saliva proteins of the salp15 family. | when taking their blood meal on the mammalian host, ticks transfer a multitude of different proteins from their saliva into the host. some of these proteins are hijacked by pathogens for their own purposes. borrelia burgdorferi, the lyme disease agent, is critically dependent on the presence of the tick protein salp15 when infecting the host. similarly, anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes anaplasmosis, needs salp16, a homologue of salp15, to get transferred from the host into the tick. here ... | 2009 | 19159966 |
| insight into the sialome of the black fly, simulium vittatum. | adaptation to vertebrate blood feeding includes development of a salivary "magic potion" that can disarm host hemostasis and inflammatory reactions. within the lower diptera, a vertebrate blood-sucking mode evolved in the psychodidae (sand flies), culicidae (mosquitoes), ceratopogonidae (biting midges), simuliidae (black flies), and the frog-feeding corethrellidae. sialotranscriptome analyses from several species of mosquitoes and sand flies and from one biting midge indicate divergence in the e ... | 2009 | 19166301 |
| transmission of cytauxzoon felis to a domestic cat by amblyomma americanum. | cytauxzoon felis was transmitted to a domestic cat by amblyomma americanum. the infection was produced by the bite of a. americanum adults that were acquisition fed as nymphs on a domestic cat that naturally survived infection of c. felis. fever, inappetence, depression, and lethargy were first noted 11 days post-infestation (dpi). pale mucus membranes, splenomegaly, icterus, and dyspnea were also observed during the course of the disease. the body temperature of the experimentally infected c. f ... | 2009 | 19168288 |
| suppression of ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) following annual habitat-targeted acaricide applications against fall populations of adults. | spring acaricide applications directed against nymphal ixodes scapularis have been shown to be effective, but are perceived by the public as having significant adverse environmental impacts, particularly against nontarget organisms. targeting the adult stage of i. scapularis in the fall would hypothetically result in indirect control of subsequent subadult stages while avoiding other arthropods that are typically inactive during this period. we demonstrate that single fall applications of deltam ... | 2008 | 19181066 |
| molecular characterization, expression and localization of a peroxiredoxin from the sheep scab mite, psoroptes ovis. | the sheep scab mite, psoroptes ovis, induces an intensely pruritic exudative dermatitis which is responsible for restlessness, loss of appetite and weight loss. within the first 24 h of infection, there is a rapid inflammatory influx of eosinophils and apoptosis of the keratinocytes at the site of infection. the former cell type is capable of a sustained respiratory burst, toxic products of which may directly damage the mite and also contribute to lesion formation. analysis of a p. ovis expresse ... | 2009 | 19195412 |
| dermatologic changes induced by repeated ixodes scapularis bites and implications for prevention of tick-borne infection. | previous studies in rodents and people have demonstrated that repeated tick exposure is associated with reduced borrelia burgdorferi transmission but the mechanism of prevention remains unclear. we examined the acute histopathologic reactions to initial and repeated ixodes scapularis bites in balb/c mice and in people. skin biopsies of balb/c mice infested for the first time by i. scapularis nymphs revealed vascular dilatation and an accumulation of inflammatory cells adjacent to the bite site b ... | 2009 | 19196014 |
| isolongifolenone: a novel sesquiterpene repellent of ticks and mosquitoes. | a naturally occurring sesquiterpene, isolongifolenone, derivatives of which have been used extensively as ingredients in the cosmetics industry, was discovered to effectively repel blood-feeding arthropods that are important disease vectors. we show that (-)-isolongifolenone deters the biting of the mosquitoes, aedes aegypti (l.) and anopheles stephensi liston, more effectively than the widely used synthetic chemical repellent, n,n-diethyl-3-methyl benzamide (deet), in laboratory bioassays. the ... | 2009 | 19198523 |
| detection of borrelia burgdorferi and borrelia lonestari in birds in tennessee. | lyme disease in the united states is caused by the bacterial spirochete borrelia burgdorferi s.s. (johnson, schmid, hyde, steigerwalt, and brenner), which is transmitted by tick vectors ixodes scapularis (say) and i. pacificus (cooley and kohls). borrelia lonestari, transmitted by the tick amblyomma americanum l., may be associated with a related syndrome, southern tick-associated rash illness (stari). borrelia lonestari sequences, reported primarily in the southeastern states, have also been de ... | 2009 | 19198527 |
| evolution of the multifaceted eukaryotic akirin gene family. | akirins are nuclear proteins that form part of an innate immune response pathway conserved in drosophila and mice. this studies aim was to characterise the evolution of akirin gene structure and protein function in the eukaryotes. | 2009 | 19200367 |
| rrp1, a cyclic-di-gmp-producing response regulator, is an important regulator of borrelia burgdorferi core cellular functions. | two-component systems (tcs) are universal among bacteria and play critical roles in gene regulation. our understanding of the contributions of tcs in the biology of the borrelia is just now beginning to develop. borrelia burgdorferi, a causative agent of lyme disease, harbours a tcs comprised of open reading frames (orfs) bb0419 and bb0420. bb0419 encodes a response regulator designated rrp1, and bb0420 encodes a hybrid histidine kinase-response regulator designated hpk1. rrp1, which contains a ... | 2009 | 19210621 |
| experimental in vitro transmission of babesia sp. (eu1) by ixodes ricinus. | babesia sp. (eu1), first characterized in 2003, has been implicated in human cases of babesiosis in italy, austria and germany. it has been identified in roe deer and in its suspected tick vector, ixodes ricinus, in several european countries. the aim of the present study was to validate the competence of i. ricinus as a vector of babesia sp. (eu1) via experimental infections. for this purpose, a parasite strain isolated from roe deer was cloned in sheep erythrocytes. after experimental infectio ... | 2009 | 19210953 |
| borrelia burgdorferi bba74 is expressed exclusively during tick feeding and is regulated by both arthropod- and mammalian host-specific signals. | although bba74 initially was described as a 28-kda virulence-associated outer-membrane-spanning protein with porin-like function, subsequent studies revealed that it is periplasmic and downregulated in mammalian host-adapted spirochetes. to further elucidate the role of this protein in the borrelia burgdorferi tick-mammal cycle, we conducted a thorough examination of its expression profile in comparison with the profiles of three well-characterized, differentially expressed borrelial genes (ospa ... | 2009 | 19218390 |
| a manganese transporter, bb0219 (bmta), is required for virulence by the lyme disease spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi. | borrelia burgdorferi (bb), the causative agent of lyme disease, is transmitted to mammalian hosts through an arthropod (tick) vector. to establish infection, bb must acquire essential nutrients, including transition metals, from its mammalian and tick hosts. thus far, no metal transporter has been identified in bb. here, we report the identification of the first metal transporter, bmta (bb0219), in bb. bmta-deficient mutants of virulent bb were readily generated, and the mutants grew slightly sl ... | 2009 | 19218460 |
| conservation and immunogenicity of the mosquito ortholog of the tick-protective antigen, subolesin. | the control of arthropod vectors of pathogens that affect human and animal health is important for the eradication of vector-borne diseases. the ortholog of the tick-protective antigen, subolesin, was identified in aedes albopictus and found to have conserved epitopes in ticks and mosquitoes. rna interference with the tick and mosquito double-stranded rna in three tick species resulted in significant gene knockdown and decreased tick weight and/or survival. feeding anopheles atroparvus, aedes ca ... | 2009 | 19229557 |
| infection and replication of bartonella species within a tick cell line. | bartonella species are fastidious, gram negative bacteria, some of which are transmitted by arthropod vectors, including fleas, sandflies, and lice. there is very little information regarding the interaction and/or transmission capabilities of bartonella species by ticks. in the present study, we demonstrate successful infection of the amblyomma americanum cell line, aae12, by seven bartonella isolates and three candidatus bartonella species by electron or light microscopy. with the exception of ... | 2009 | 19242658 |
| nonrandom distribution of vector ticks (dermacentor variabilis) infected by francisella tularensis. | the island of martha's vineyard, massachusetts, is the site of a sustained outbreak of tularemia due to francisella tularensis tularensis. dog ticks, dermacentor variabilis, appear to be critical in the perpetuation of the agent there. tularemia has long been characterized as an agent of natural focality, stably persisting in characteristic sites of transmission, but this suggestion has never been rigorously tested. accordingly, we sought to identify a natural focus of transmission of the agent ... | 2009 | 19247435 |
| antibody responses of domestic animals to salivary antigens of triatomainfestans as biomarkers for low-level infestation of triatomines. | hematophagous arthropods such as triatoma infestans, the vector of trypanosoma cruzi, elicit host-immune responses during feeding. characterization of antibody responses to salivary antigens offers the potential to develop immunologically based monitoring techniques for exposure to re-emergent triatomine bug populations in peridomestic animals. igg-antibody responses to the salivary antigens of t.infestans have been detected in chickens as soon as 2 days after the first exposure to five adult bu ... | 2009 | 19248784 |
| climate and tick seasonality are predictors of borrelia burgdorferi genotype distribution. | the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis, is of significant public health importance as a vector of borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of lyme borreliosis. the timing of seasonal activity of each immature i. scapularis life stage relative to the next is critical for the maintenance of b. burgdorferi because larvae must feed after an infected nymph to efficiently acquire the infection from reservoir hosts. recent studies have shown that some strains of b. burgdorferi do not persist in the primary res ... | 2009 | 19251900 |
| 79-year-old man with fever, malaise, and jaundice. | | 2009 | 19252117 |
| a chromosomally encoded virulence factor protects the lyme disease pathogen against host-adaptive immunity. | borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterial pathogen of lyme borreliosis, differentially expresses select genes in vivo, likely contributing to microbial persistence and disease. expression analysis of spirochete genes encoding potential membrane proteins showed that surface-located membrane protein 1 (lmp1) transcripts were expressed at high levels in the infected murine heart, especially during early stages of infection. mice and humans with diagnosed lyme borreliosis also developed antibodies against ... | 2009 | 19266024 |
| a borreliacidal factor in amblyomma americanum saliva is associated with phospholipase a2 activity. | previous work in our laboratory described the in vitro killing of borrelia burgdorferi when co-cultured with saliva from adult amblyomma americanum. borreliacidal activity was not evident using ixodes scapularis saliva. mixing trypsin with saliva eliminated the borreliacidal activity of a. americanum saliva, while incorporating a trypsin inhibitor restored all borreliacidal activity, indicating this factor was of protein or peptide origin. one-dimensional page indicated at least 7 major protein ... | 2009 | 19271281 |
| the use of harvested white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) and geographic information system (gis) methods to characterize distribution and locate spatial clusters of borrelia burgdorferi and its vector ixodes scapularis in indiana. | ixodes scapularis (say) is the vector for borrelia burgdorferi (bb) the causative agent of lyme disease (ld). the increased number and presence of ticks in the environment pose a significant health risk to people and many domestic animals including dogs, cats, and horses. this study characterized the distribution and expansion of i. scapularis and bb and identified areas of increased risk of ld transmission in indiana using geographical information systems (gis) and spatial analysis. a cross-sec ... | 2009 | 19272000 |
| tick genomics--coming of age. | many challenges face tick genomics. ticks have large genomes and their estimated sizes vary from 1.04~7.1 x10(9) bp, about one third to over two times the size of the human genome. karyotype studies have revealed a range in chromosome number and the sex determining system seems to be primarily driven by a xy or a xo format. re-association hybridization kinetics indicates that the bulk of the tick genome consists of repetitive sequences and only 30~35% of the genome consists of low copy number se ... | 2009 | 19273226 |
| molecular characterization of ehrlichia interactions with tick cells and macrophages. | several tick-transmitted anaplasmataceae family rickettsiales of the genera ehrlichia and anaplasma have been discovered in recent years. some species are classified as pathogens causing emerging diseases with growing health concern for people. they include human monocytic ehrlichiosis, human granulocytic ewingii ehrlichiosis and human granulocytic anaplasmosis which are caused by ehrlichia chaffeensis, e. ewingii and anaplasma phagocytophilum, respectively. despite the complex cellular environm ... | 2009 | 19273271 |
| langerhans cell deficiency impairs ixodes scapularis suppression of th1 responses in mice. | ixodes scapularis ticks transmit a number of human pathogens, including the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi. i. scapularis suppresses host immunity in the skin to promote feeding and systemically skew t-helper (th)-cell differentiation toward th2 cells in secondary lymphoid organs. although components of tick saliva are known to influence th-cell polarization, the mechanism whereby tick feeding in the skin modulates regional and systemic th-cell responses is unknown. in this study, ... | 2009 | 19273564 |
| effects of climate change on ticks and tick-borne diseases in europe. | zoonotic tick-borne diseases are an increasing health burden in europe and there is speculation that this is partly due to climate change affecting vector biology and disease transmission. data on the vector tick ixodes ricinus suggest that an extension of its northern and altitude range has been accompanied by an increased prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis. climate change may also be partly responsible for the change in distribution of dermacentor reticulatus. increased winter activity of i ... | 2009 | 19277106 |
| characterization of a novel relapsing fever spirochete in the midgut, coxal fluid, and salivary glands of the bat tick carios kelleyi. | bat ticks, carios kelleyi, from iowa were examined for the presence of relapsing fever group borreliae. a novel spirochete was characterized by dna sequence analysis of polymerase chain reaction amplicons for the 16s rrna, flab, and glpq genes in either triturated tick pools or single ticks. all loci and the concatenated dna sequence of 3,289 bases identified the carios bacterium as a relapsing fever spirochete most closely related to, but distinct from, borrelia turicatae. spirochetes reactive ... | 2009 | 19281412 |
| a novel sphingomyelinase-like enzyme in ixodes scapularis tick saliva drives host cd4 t cells to express il-4. | tick feeding modulates host immune responses. tick-induced skewing of host cd4(+) t cells towards a th2 cytokine profile facilitates transmission of tick-borne pathogens that would otherwise be neutralized by th1 cytokines. tick-derived factors that drive this th2 response have not previously been characterized. in the current study, we examined an i. scapularis cdna library prepared at 18-24 h of feeding and identified and expressed a tick gene with homology to loxosceles spider venom proteins ... | 2009 | 19292772 |
| evidence of a tick rnai pathway by comparative genomics and reverse genetics screen of targets with known loss-of-function phenotypes in drosophila. | the arthropods are a diverse group of organisms including chelicerata (ticks, mites, spiders), crustacea (crabs, shrimps), and insecta (flies, mosquitoes, beetles, silkworm). the cattle tick, rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus, is an economically significant ectoparasite of cattle affecting cattle industries world wide. with the availability of sequence reads from the first chelicerate genome project (the ixodes scapularis tick) and extensive r. microplus ests, we investigated evidence for puta ... | 2009 | 19323841 |
| babesia bigemina: in vitro multiplication of sporokinetes in ixodes scapularis (ide8) cells. | this paper describes the in vitro multiplication process of babesia bigemina sporokinetes in a cell line (ide8) from ixodes scapularis ticks. the inoculum was obtained from hemolymph of engorged females of rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus ticks naturally infected with b. bigemina. these ticks had been fed on calves living in a tick endemic farm in brazil. microscopic morphological details are shown to describe the development of the parasite in the tick cells; the identity of the parasite was ... | 2009 | 19324040 |
| correlation between tick density and pathogen endemicity, new hampshire. | to assess the endemicity of tick-borne pathogens in new hampshire, we surveyed adult tick vectors. pathogens were more prevalent in areas of high tick density, suggesting a correlation between tick establishment and pathogen endemicity. infection rates in ticks correlated with disease frequency in humans. | 2009 | 19331738 |
| inhibition of neutrophil function by two tick salivary proteins. | the saliva of hematophagous arthropods contains potent anti-inflammatory and antihemostatic activities that promote acquisition of the blood meal and enhance infection with pathogens. we have shown that polymorphonuclear leukocytes (pmn) treated with the saliva of the tick ixodes scapularis have reduced expression of beta(2) integrins, impaired pmn adherence, and reduced killing of borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of lyme disease. here we describe two ixodes proteins that are induced up ... | 2009 | 19332533 |
| structure-activity relationship studies on the mosquito toxicity and biting deterrency of callicarpenal derivatives. | callicarpenal (=13,14,15,16-tetranorclerod-3-en-12-al=[(1s,2r,4ar,8ar)-1,2,3,4,4a,7,8,8a-octahydro-1,2,4a,5-tetramethylnaphthalen-1-yl]acetaldehyde; 1) has previously demonstrated significant mosquito bite-deterring activity against aedes aegypti and anopheles stephensi in addition to repellent activity against host-seeking nymphs of the blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis. in the present study, structural modifications were performed on callicarpenal (1) in an effort to understand the functiona ... | 2009 | 19353538 |
| the relationship between spotted fever group rickettsiae and ixodid ticks. | spotted fever group rickettsiae are predominantly transmitted by ticks. rickettsiae have developed many strategies to adapt to different environmental conditions, including those within their arthropod vectors and vertebrate hosts. the tick-rickettsiae relationship has been a point of interest for many researchers, with most studies concentrating on the role of ticks as vectors. unfortunately, less attention has been directed towards the relationship of rickettsiae with tick cells, tissues, and ... | 2009 | 19358804 |
| composition of bacterial communities associated with natural and laboratory populations of asobara tabida infected with wolbachia. | asobara tabida wasps are fly endoparasitoids that naturally harbor three wolbachia strains, which induce cytoplasmic incompatibility and control oogenesis. to investigate whether other bacteria play a role in wasp biology, we surveyed the bacterial communities of wild a. tabida populations originating from different regions of france and of laboratory colonies using pcr-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and culture methods. proteobacteria and firmicutes were found to be the main phyla repr ... | 2009 | 19376923 |
| immunomodulatory parasites and toll-like receptor-mediated tumour necrosis factor alpha responsiveness in wild mammals. | immunological analyses of wild populations can increase our understanding of how vertebrate immune systems respond to 'natural' levels of exposure to diverse infections. a major recent advance in immunology has been the recognition of the central role of phylogenetically conserved toll-like receptors in triggering innate immunity and the subsequent recruitment of adaptive response programmes. we studied the cross-sectional associations between individual levels of systemic toll-like receptor-med ... | 2009 | 19386086 |
| extensive genomic diversity of closely related wolbachia strains. | using microarray-based comparative genome hybridization (mcgh), the genomic content of wolbachia pipientis wmel from drosophila melanogaster was compared to the closely related wolbachia from d. innubila (winn), d. santomea (wsan), and three strains from d. simulans (wau, wri, wsim). a large number of auxiliary genes are identified in these five strains, with most absent/divergent genes being unique to a given strain. each strain caused an average of approximately 60 genes to be removed from the ... | 2009 | 19389774 |
| ornithodoros savignyi: soft tick apyrase belongs to the 5'-nucleotidase family. | salivary apyrases are nucleotide-metabolising enzymes that blood-feeding parasites utilise for modulation of extracellular nucleotides to prevent platelet activation and aggregation. in this study a 5'-nucleotidase specific degenerate primer was used to identify homologous transcripts from ornithodoros savignyi salivary gland cdna. two 5'-nucleotidase isoforms that share significant sequence identity to putative apyrases from rhipicephalus appendiculatus and ixodes scapularis were identified. st ... | 2009 | 19393241 |
| borrelia burgdorferi reva antigen binds host fibronectin. | borrelia burgdorferi, the lyme disease-causing spirochete, can persistently infect its vertebrate hosts for years. b. burgdorferi is often found associated with host connective tissue, where it interacts with components of the extracellular matrix, including fibronectin. some years ago, a borrelial surface protein, named bbk32, was identified as a fibronectin-binding protein. however, b. burgdorferi bbk32 mutants are still able to bind fibronectin, indicating that the spirochete possesses additi ... | 2009 | 19398540 |
| ticks and tick-borne pathogens and putative symbionts of black bears (ursus americanus floridanus) from georgia and florida. | ticks were collected from 38 black bears (ursus americanus floridanus) from northwestern florida (n = 18) from 2003 to 2005 and southern georgia (n = 20) in 2006. five species (amblyomma americanum, a. maculatum, dermacentor variabilis, ixodes scapularis, and i. affinis) were collected from florida bears, and 4 species (a. americanum, a. maculatum, d. variabilis, i. scapularis) were collected from bears in georgia. ixodes scapularis was the most frequently collected tick, followed by d. variabil ... | 2009 | 19413369 |
| an ancient immunity gene duplication in daphnia magna: rna expression and sequence analysis of two nitric oxide synthase genes. | no (nitric oxide) is a highly reactive free radical gas thought to play a major role in the invertebrate immune response by harming pathogens and limiting their growth. here we report on studies of nitric oxide synthase (nos) genes in the crustacean daphnia, one of the few non-insect arthropod models used to study host-pathogen interactions. while the nos gene is found as a single copy in other invertebrates, we found two copies (nos1 and nos2), which a phylogenetic reconstruction showed to be t ... | 2009 | 19416737 |
| in the lymelight: law and clinical practice guidelines. | almost from the beginning, the ixodes scapularis and i pacificus, adult deer ticks, have been a breeding ground not only for lyme disease, but also for political dissent. most recently, the battleground moved into the arena of clinical practice guidelines. both camps in the "lyme wars"-the infectious diseases society of america (idsa) and the international lyme and associated diseases society (ilads)-have published lyme disease practice guidelines. the guidelines conflict regarding diagnosis and ... | 2009 | 19434013 |
| ixodes scapularis tick serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) gene family; annotation and transcriptional analysis. | serine proteinase inhibitors (serpins) are a large superfamily of structurally related, but functionally diverse proteins that control essential proteolytic pathways in most branches of life. given their importance in the biology of many organisms, the concept that ticks might utilize serpins to evade host defenses and immunizing against or disrupting their functions as targets for tick control is an appealing option. | 2009 | 19435496 |
| fatal case of deer tick virus encephalitis. | deer tick virus is related to powassan virus, a tickborne encephalitis virus. a 62-year-old man presented with a meningoencephalitis syndrome and eventually died. analyses of tissue samples obtained during surgery and at autopsy revealed a widespread necrotizing meningoencephalitis. nucleic acid was extracted from formalin-fixed tissue, and the presence of deer tick virus was verified on a flavivirus-specific polymerase-chain-reaction (pcr) assay, followed by sequence confirmation. immunohistoch ... | 2009 | 19439744 |
| diluting the dilution effect: a spatial lyme model provides evidence for the importance of habitat fragmentation with regard to the risk of infection. | this paper aims to construct a spatially-explicit model of ixodes scapularis infection in the state of new york, usa, based on climate traits, high-resolution landscape features and patch-connectivity according to graph theory. the degree of risk for infection is calculated based on empirical data of host abundance, previous studies on host infectivity rates and tick preferences towards a given host. the outcome signifies what is called the "recruitment of infection", i.e. an index representing ... | 2009 | 19440959 |
| cspa-mediated binding of human factor h inhibits complement deposition and confers serum resistance in borrelia burgdorferi. | borrelia burgdorferi has developed efficient mechanisms for evading the innate immune response during mammalian infection and has been shown to be resistant to the complement-mediated bactericidal activity of human serum. it is well recognized that b. burgdorferi expresses multiple lipoproteins on its surface that bind the human complement inhibitors factor h and factor h-like protein 1 (fh/fhl-1). the binding of fh/fhl-1 on the surface of b. burgdorferi is thought to enhance its ability to evad ... | 2009 | 19451251 |
| chitobiose utilization in borrelia burgdorferi is dually regulated by rpod and rpos. | borrelia burgdorferi has limited biosynthetic capabilities and must scavenge n-acetylglucosamine (glcnac), an essential component of the microbial cell wall, from the surrounding environment. spirochetes cultured in the absence of free glcnac exhibit biphasic growth; however, addition of chitobiose (a dimer of glcnac) substitutes for free glcnac resulting in a single exponential phase. we evaluated the effect of rpos and rpon, the only alternative sigma factors in b. burgdorferi, on biphasic gro ... | 2009 | 19473539 |
| the elastic basis for the shape of borrelia burgdorferi. | the mechanisms that determine bacterial shape are in many ways poorly understood. a prime example is the lyme disease spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi (b. burgdorferi), which mechanically couples its motility organelles, helical flagella, to its rod-shaped cell body, producing a striking flat-wave morphology. a mathematical model is developed here that accounts for the elastic coupling of the flagella to the cell cylinder and shows that the flat-wave morphology is in fact a natural consequence o ... | 2009 | 19486665 |
| nonhuman primate dermatology: a literature review. | in general, veterinary dermatologists do not have extensive clinical experience of nonhuman primate (nhp) dermatoses. the bulk of the published literature does not provide an organized evidence-based approach to the nhp dermatologic case. the veterinary dermatologist is left to extract information from both human and veterinary dermatology, an approach that can be problematic as it forces the clinician to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions based on two very disparate bodies of literature. ... | 2009 | 19490576 |
| saag-4 is a novel mosquito salivary protein that programmes host cd4 t cells to express il-4. | mosquitoes represent the most important vector for transmitting pathogens that cause human disease. central to pathogen transmission is the ability to divert the host immune system away from th1 and towards th2 responsiveness. identification of the mosquito factor(s) critical for programming th2 responsiveness should therefore lead to strategies to neutralize their function and thus prevent disease transmission. in the current study, we used a tcr transgenic adoptive transfer system to screen ge ... | 2009 | 19493208 |
| the immunomodulatory action of sialostatin l on dendritic cells reveals its potential to interfere with autoimmunity. | sialostatin l (sialol) is a secreted cysteine protease inhibitor identified in the salivary glands of the lyme disease vector ixodes scapularis. in this study, we reveal the mechanisms of sialol immunomodulatory actions on the vertebrate host. lps-induced maturation of dendritic cells from c57bl/6 mice was significantly reduced in the presence of sialol. although ova degradation was not affected by the presence of sialol in dendritic cell cultures, cathepsin s activity was partially inhibited, l ... | 2009 | 19494265 |
| isolation of entomopathogenic fungi from soils and ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) ticks: prevalence and methods. | entomopathogenic fungi are commonly found in forested soils that provide tick habitat, and many species are pathogenic to ixodes scapularis say, the blacklegged tick. as a first step to developing effective biocontrol strategies, the objective of this study was to determine the best methods to isolate entomopathogenic fungal species from field-collected samples of soils and ticks from an eastern deciduous forest where i. scapularis is common. several methods were assessed: (1) soils, leaf litter ... | 2009 | 19496427 |
| addition of alarm pheromone components improves the effectiveness of desiccant dusts against cimex lectularius. | we demonstrate that the addition of bed bug, cimex lectularius, alarm pheromone to desiccant formulations greatly enhances their effectiveness during short-term exposure. two desiccant formulations, diatomaceous earth (de) and dri-die (silica gel), were applied at the label rate with and without bed bug alarm pheromone components, (e)-2-hexenal, (e)-2-octenal, and a (e)-2-hexenal:(e)-2-octenal blend. first-instar nymphs and adult females were subjected to 10-min exposures, and water loss rates w ... | 2009 | 19496429 |
| transovarial transmission of francisella-like endosymbionts and anaplasma phagocytophilum variants in dermacentor albipictus (acari: ixodidae). | dermacentor albipictus (packard) is a north american tick that feeds on cervids and livestock. it is a suspected vector of anaplasmosis in cattle, but its microbial flora and vector potential remain underevaluated. we screened d. albipictus ticks collected from minnesota white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) for bacteria of the genera anaplasma, ehrlichia, francisella, and rickettsia using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) gene amplification and sequence analyses. we detected anaplasma phagoc ... | 2009 | 19496436 |
| microarray analysis of gene expression changes in feeding female and male lone star ticks, amblyomma americanum (l). | a collection of est clones from female tick amblyomma americanum salivary glands was hybridized to rna from different feeding stages of female tick salivary glands and from unfed or feeding adult male ticks. in the female ticks, the expression patterns changed dramatically upon starting feeding, then changed again towards the end of feeding. on beginning feeding, genes possibly involved in survival on the host increased in expression as did many housekeeping genes. as feeding progressed, some of ... | 2009 | 19514082 |
| diversity of anaplasma phagocytophilum strains, usa. | we analyzed the structure of the expression site encoding the immunoprotective protein msp2/p44 from multiple anaplasma phagocytophilum strains in the united states. the sequence of p44esup1 had diverged in ap-variant 1 strains infecting ruminants. in contrast, no differences were detected between a. phagocytophilum strains infecting humans and domestic dogs. | 2009 | 19523294 |
| embryonic diapause highlighted by differential expression of mrnas for ecdysteroidogenesis, transcription and lipid sparing in the cricket allonemobius socius. | embryos of the ground cricket, allonemobius socius, enter diapause 4-5 days post-oviposition and overwinter in this dormant state that is characterized by developmental arrest. suppressive subtractive hybridization and quantitative real-time pcr reveal eight candidate genes in pre-diapause embryos that show promise as regulators of diapause entry, when compared with embryos not destined for diapause. identifications are based both on the magnitude/consistency of differential mrna abundances and ... | 2009 | 19525434 |
| anchoring tick salivary anti-complement proteins irac i and irac ii to membrane increases their immunogenicity. | tick salivary proteins are promising targets for the development of anti-tick vaccines. recently, we described two paralogous anti-complement proteins, called ixodes ricinus anti-complement (irac) proteins i and ii, that are co-expressed in tick i. ricinus salivary glands. however, our previous attempts to immunize rabbits against irac via infection with recombinant bovine herpesvirus 4 (bohv-4) vectors invariably failed although both recombinants expressed high levels of functional irac protein ... | 2009 | 19531344 |
| ixodes ovatus ehrlichia exhibits unique ultrastructural characteristics in mammalian endothelial and tick-derived cells. | tick-borne pathogens in the genus ehrlichia cause emerging zoonoses. although laboratory mice are susceptible to ehrlichia infections, many isolates do not cause clinical illness. in contrast, the ixodes ovatus ehrlichia-like agent (ioe) causes disease and immune responses in mice comparable to the human illness caused by ehrlichia chaffeensis. no culture system had been developed for ioe, however, which limited studies of this pathogen. we reasoned that endothelial and tick cell lines could pot ... | 2009 | 19538270 |
| male engorgement factor: role in stimulating engorgement to repletion in the ixodid tick, dermacentor variabilis. | mating in ticks results in profound physiological changes that eventually results in egg production. in the american dog tick, dermacentor variabilis, mating causes partially blood-fed female ticks to commence rapid engorgement to repletion and eventual detachment from the host and egg laying. the peptidic male pheromone (engorgement factor alpha/beta) transferred to the female during mating is known only from a single tick species, amblyomma hebraeum, and was shown to consist of two peptides pr ... | 2009 | 19538967 |
| the neuropeptidomics of ixodes scapularis synganglion. | ticks (ixodoidea) likely transmit the greatest variety of human and animal pathogens of any arthropod vector. despite their medical significance little data is available about the messenger molecules in the central nervous system that coordinate all physiological processes in these animals, including behaviour. in our study, we performed the first comprehensive neuropeptidomic analysis of a tick species by using maldi-tof mass spectrometry. specifically we analyzed the neuropeptides in the synga ... | 2009 | 19540946 |
| a borreliacidal factor in amblyomma americanum saliva is associated with phospholipase a(2) activity. | previous work in our laboratory described the in vitro killing of borrelia burgdorferi when co-cultured with saliva from adult amblyomma americanum. borreliacidal activity was not evident using ixodes scapularis saliva. mixing trypsin with saliva eliminated the borreliacidal activity of a. americanum saliva, while incorporating a trypsin inhibitor restored all borreliacidal activity, indicating this factor was of protein or peptide origin. one dimensional page indicated at least 7 major protein ... | 2009 | 19545533 |
| analysis of salivary transcripts and antigens of the sand fly phlebotomus arabicus. | sand fly saliva plays an important role in blood feeding and leishmania transmission as it was shown to increase parasite virulence. on the other hand, immunity to salivary components impedes the establishment of infection. therefore, it is most desirable to gain a deeper insight into the composition of saliva in sand fly species which serve as vectors of various forms of leishmaniases. in the present work, we focused on phlebotomus (adlerius) arabicus, which was recently shown to transmit leish ... | 2009 | 19555500 |
| the role of salivary and intestinal complement system inhibitors in the midgut protection of triatomines and mosquitoes. | saliva of haematophagous arthropods contain biomolecules involved directly or indirectly with the haematophagy process, and among them are encountered some complement system inhibitors. the most obvious function for these inhibitors would be the protection of the midgut against injury by the complement. to investigate this hypothesis, triatoma brasiliensis nymphs were forced to ingest human serum in conditions in which the protection of midgut by the inhibitors is bypassed. in these conditions, ... | 2009 | 19557176 |
| infection with anaplasma phagocytophilum induces multilineage alterations in hematopoietic progenitor cells and peripheral blood cells. | infection with anaplasma phagocytophilum, a gram-negative, lipopolysaccharide (lps)-negative, obligate intracellular bacterium, results in multiple peripheral blood cytopenias. we hypothesized that infection with this organism would result in decreased bone marrow (bm) function and shifts in hematopoietic progenitor cells (hpcs) and lineage-committed cells in a well-established murine model of infection. hpcs and lineage-committed progenitors were enumerated in the bm and spleen during acute inf ... | 2009 | 19564373 |
| comprehensive seroprofiling of sixteen b. burgdorferi ospc: implications for lyme disease diagnostics design. | early diagnosis of lyme disease (ld) is critical to successful treatment. however, current serodiagnostic tests do not reliably detect antibodies during early infection. ospc induces a potent early immune response and is also one of the most diverse proteins in the borrelia proteome. yet, at least 70% of the amino acid sequence is conserved among all 21 known ospc types. we performed a series of comprehensive seroprofiling studies to select the ospc types that have the most cross-reactive immuno ... | 2009 | 19576856 |
| the kunitz-like modulatory protein haemangin is vital for hard tick blood-feeding success. | ticks are serious haematophagus arthropod pests and are only second to mosquitoes as vectors of diseases of humans and animals. the salivary glands of the slower feeding hard ticks such as haemaphysalis longicornis are a rich source of bioactive molecules and are critical to their biologic success, yet distinct molecules that help prolong parasitism on robust mammalian hosts and achieve blood-meals remain unidentified. here, we report on the molecular and biochemical features and precise functio ... | 2009 | 19593376 |
| silencing of genes involved in anaplasma marginale-tick interactions affects the pathogen developmental cycle in dermacentor variabilis. | the cattle pathogen, anaplasma marginale, undergoes a developmental cycle in ticks that begins in gut cells. transmission to cattle occurs from salivary glands during a second tick feeding. at each site of development two forms of a. marginale (reticulated and dense) occur within a parasitophorous vacuole in the host cell cytoplasm. however, the role of tick genes in pathogen development is unknown. four genes, found in previous studies to be differentially expressed in dermacentor variabilis ti ... | 2009 | 19607704 |
| evolution of the gene lineage encoding the carbon dioxide receptor in insects. | a heterodimer of the insect chemoreceptors gr21a and gr63a has been shown to be the carbon dioxide receptor in drosophila melanogaster (meigen) (diptera: drosophilidae). comparison of the genes encoding these two proteins across the 12 available drosophilid fly genomes allows refined definition of their n-termini. these genes are highly conserved, along with a paralog of gr21a, in the anopheles gambiae, aedes aegypti, and culex pipiens mosquitoes, as well as in the silk moth bombyx mori and the ... | 2009 | 19613462 |
| ixolaris, a tissue factor inhibitor, blocks primary tumor growth and angiogenesis in a glioblastoma model. | the expression levels of the clotting initiator protein tissue factor (tf) correlate with vessel density and the histological malignancy grade of glioma patients. increased procoagulant tonus in high grade tumors (glioblastomas) also indicates a potential role for tf in progression of this disease, and suggests that anticoagulants could be used as adjuvants for its treatment. | 2009 | 19624457 |
| tick-derived kunitz-type inhibitors as antihemostatic factors. | endogenous kunitz-type inhibitors target a large number of serine proteinases, including coagulation factors viia and xa, but not thrombin. by contrast, several two-domain kunitz inhibitors of this major procoagulant proteinase have been isolated from both soft ticks (e.g., ornithodorin from ornithodoros moubata) and hard ticks (e.g., boophilin from rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus). surprisingly, these anticoagulants do not follow the canonical mechanism of proteinase inhibition. instead, th ... | 2009 | 19631744 |
| anaplasma phagocytophilum and anaplasma marginale elicit different gene expression responses in cultured tick cells. | the genus anaplasma (rickettsiales: anaplasmataceae) includes obligate tick-transmitted intracellular organisms, anaplasma phagocytophilum and anaplasma marginale that multiply in both vertebrate and tick host cells. recently, we showed that a. marginale affects the expression of tick genes that are involved in tick survival and pathogen infection and multiplication. however, the gene expression profile in a. phagocytophilum-infected tick cells is currently poorly characterized. the objectives o ... | 2009 | 19636428 |
| dihydronepetalactones deter feeding activity by mosquitoes, stable flies, and deer ticks. | the essential oil of catmint, nepeta cataria l., contains nepetalactones, that, on hydrogenation, yield the corresponding dihydronepetalactone (dhn) diastereomers. the dhn diastereomer (4r,4ar,7s,7as)-4,7-dimethylhexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyran-1(3h)-one, dhn 1) was evaluated as mosquito repellent, as was the mixture of diastereomers {mostly (4s,4ar,7s,7ar)-4,7-dimethylhexahydrocyclopenta[c]pyran-1(3h)-one, dhn 2} present after hydrogenation of catmint oil itself. the repellency of these materials t ... | 2009 | 19645285 |
| community-based prevention of lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases through topical application of acaricide to white-tailed deer: background and rationale. | this series of articles describes the first large-scale experiment designed to explore the efficacy of reducing the risk of tick-borne disease in highly endemic communities of the northeastern and mid-atlantic united states through deployment of a self-application device that treats white-tailed deer with acaricide to prevent feeding by adult ixodes scapularis ticks and all stages of amblyomma americanum ticks where both species occur. the results of the multicenter study are reported in the acc ... | 2009 | 19650729 |
| topical treatment of white-tailed deer with an acaricide for the control of ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) in a connecticut lyme borreliosis hyperendemic community. | the 4-poster device for the topical treatment of white-tailed deer, odocoileus virginianus (zimmermann), against ticks using the acaricide amitraz, was evaluated in a lyme borreliosis endemic community in connecticut. as part of a 5-year project from 1997 to 2002, 21-24 of the 4-posters were distributed at residential sites in old lyme, ct, in a core treatment area of approximately 5.2 km(2) in fall 1997. the 4-posters were active october to mid-december and march into may, corresponding to the ... | 2009 | 19650731 |
| acaricidal treatment of white-tailed deer to control ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) in a new york lyme disease-endemic community. | the efficacy of topically treating white-tailed deer with an acaricide was evaluated in a lyme disease-endemic community of southern new york state. twenty-four 4-poster feeders were placed in a 5.2 km(2) treatment area in bedford, ny, while a site in lewisboro, ny, 4.8 km distant, served as control. treatment periods ran from 15 september to 15 december each fall from 1997 to 2001, and from 15 march to 15 may each spring from 1998 to 2002. corn consumption averaged 15,779 kg in fall sessions an ... | 2009 | 19650732 |
| effectiveness of the 4-poster passive topical treatment device in the control of ixodes scapularis and amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) in new jersey. | twenty-five "4-poster" feeders were placed throughout a 5.2 km(2) study area within a secured military facility situated in a hyperendemic area for lyme disease in central monmouth county, new jersey. calculated levels of control, relative to untreated areas, peaked at 82.7%, 77.3%, and 94.2% for of host-seeking ixodes scapularis say larvae, nymphs, and adults, respectively, within 5 years of deployment. control of host-seeking amblyomma americanum (l.) peaked at 99.2%, 89.5%, and 96.9% for larv ... | 2009 | 19650733 |
| evaluating a deer-targeted acaricide applicator for area-wide suppression of blacklegged ticks, ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae), in rhode island. | over a 5-year period, september 1997 through may 2002, as many as 25 u.s. department of agriculture-agricultural research service "4-poster" acaricide applicators were distributed in areas of high deer activity throughout a 518-hectare area in a rural rhode island community. corn consumption and acaricide levels for each device were monitored weekly during each treatment season to assess the degree of deer use. the efficacy of acaricide treatment was determined by comparing relative blacklegged ... | 2009 | 19650734 |
| the impact of 4-poster deer self-treatment devices at three locations in maryland. | from 1998-2002 twenty-five deer self-treatment devices (4-posters), using 2% amitraz, were operated at three locations in maryland to determine their effectiveness in controlling blacklegged ticks, ixodes scapularis say, and lone star ticks, amblyomma americanum (l.). each treatment site was approximately 518 ha and paired with a similar site lacking 4-posters. locations varied in deer density, tick abundance, and land use. flagging for host-seeking ticks showed declines in tick populations at a ... | 2009 | 19650735 |
| sustained control of gibson island, maryland, populations of ixodes scapularis and amblyomma americanum (acari: ixodidae) by community-administered 4-poster deer self-treatment bait stations. | in 1998, twenty-five 4-poster deer treatment bait stations were deployed on gibson island (gi), maryland, as part of the u.s. department of agriculture (usda) northeast area-wide tick control project. treatments concluded in june 2002, having achieved 80% and 99.5% control of blacklegged ticks, ixodes scapularis, and lone star ticks, amblyomma americanum, respectively. no area-wide tick control was attempted again on the island until 2003, when 15 dandux-manufactured 4-posters were purchased by ... | 2009 | 19650736 |
| evaluation of the united states department of agriculture northeast area-wide tick control project by meta-analysis. | as part of the northeast area-wide tick control project (neatcp), meta-analyses were performed using pooled data on the extent of tick-vector control achieved through seven concurrent studies, conducted within five states, using u.s. department of agriculture "4-poster" devices to deliver targeted-acaricide to white-tailed deer. although reductions in the abundance of all life-stages of ixodes scapularis were the measured outcomes, this study focused on metrics associated with i. scapularis nymp ... | 2009 | 19650737 |
| effects of tick control by acaricide self-treatment of white-tailed deer on host-seeking tick infection prevalence and entomologic risk for ixodes scapularis-borne pathogens. | we evaluated the effects of tick control by acaricide self-treatment of white-tailed deer on the infection prevalence and entomologic risk for three ixodes scapularis-borne bacteria in host-seeking ticks. ticks were collected from vegetation in areas treated with the "4-poster" device and from control areas over a 6-year period in five geographically diverse study locations in the northeastern united states and tested for infection with two known agents of human disease, borrelia burgdorferi and ... | 2009 | 19650738 |
| the united states department of agriculture's northeast area-wide tick control project: summary and conclusions. | from 1997 to 2002, the u.s. department of agriculture's northeast area-wide tick control project used acaricide-treated 4-poster deer treatment bait stations in five eastern states to control ticks feeding on white-tailed deer. the objectives of this host-targeted technology were to reduce free-living blacklegged (ixodes scapularis say) and lone star (amblyomma americanum [l.]) tick populations and thereby to reduce the risk of tick-borne disease. during 2002 to 2004, treatments were suspended, ... | 2009 | 19650739 |
| guaa and guab are essential for borrelia burgdorferi survival in the tick-mouse infection cycle. | pathogens lacking the enzymatic pathways for de novo purine biosynthesis are required to salvage purines and pyrimidines from the host environment for synthesis of dna and rna. two key enzymes in purine salvage pathways are imp dehydrogenase (guab) and gmp synthase (guaa), encoded by the guab and guaa genes, respectively. while these genes are typically found on the chromosome in most bacterial pathogens, the guaab operon of borrelia burgdorferi is present on plasmid cp26, which also harbors a n ... | 2009 | 19666713 |
| current management of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, human monocytic ehrlichiosis and ehrlichia ewingii ehrlichiosis. | anaplasma phagocytophilum, ehrlichia chaffeensis and ehrlichia ewingii are emerging tick-borne pathogens and are the causative agents of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, human monocytic ehrlichiosis and e. ewingii ehrlichiosis, respectively. collectively, these are referred to as human ehrlichioses. these obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens of the family anaplasmataceae are transmitted by ixodes spp. or amblyomma americanum ticks and infect peripherally circulating leukocytes to cause inf ... | 2009 | 19681699 |
| ehrlichia chaffeensis infections in drosophila melanogaster. | ehrlichia chaffeensis is an obligate, intracellular bacterium, transmitted by the tick amblyomma americanum, and is the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis infections. we previously demonstrated that e. chaffeensis is capable of growing in drosophila s2 cells. therefore, we tested the hypothesis that e. chaffeensis can infect adult drosophila melanogaster. adult drosophila organisms were experimentally challenged with intra-abdominal injections of bacteria. ehrlichia-infected flies s ... | 2009 | 19687202 |
| managing japanese barberry (ranunculales: berberidaceae) infestations reduces blacklegged tick (acari: ixodidae) abundance and infection prevalence with borrelia burgdorferi (spirochaetales: spirochaetaceae). | in many connecticut forests with an overabundance of white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus zimmermann), japanese barberry (berberis thunbergii dc) has become the dominant understory shrub, which may provide a habitat favorable to blacklegged tick (ixodes scapularis say) and white-footed mouse (peromyscus leucopus rafinesque) survival. to determine mouse and larval tick abundances at three replicate sites over 2 yr, mice were trapped in unmanipulated dense barberry infestations, areas where b ... | 2009 | 19689875 |
| tumors, ticks and tissue factor. | | 2009 | 19694942 |
| borrelia burgdorferi small lipoprotein lp6.6 is a member of multiple protein complexes in the outer membrane and facilitates pathogen transmission from ticks to mice. | borrelia burgdorferi lipoprotein lp6.6 is a differentially produced spirochete antigen. an assessment of lp6.6 expression covering representative stages of the infectious cycle of spirochetes demonstrates that the gene is solely expressed during pathogen persistence in ticks. deletion of lp6.6 in infectious b. burgdorferi did not influence in vitro growth, or its ability to persist and induce inflammation in mice, migrate to larval or nymphal ticks or survive through the larval-nymphal molt. how ... | 2009 | 19703109 |
| phylogeography of borrelia burgdorferi in the eastern united states reflects multiple independent lyme disease emergence events. | since its first description in coastal connecticut in 1976, both the incidence of lyme disease and the geographic extent of endemic areas in the us have increased dramatically. the rapid expansion of lyme disease into its current distribution in the eastern half of the us has been due to the range expansion of the tick vector, ixodes scapularis, upon which the causative agent, borrelia burgdorferi is dependent for transmission to humans. in this study, we examined the phylogeographic population ... | 2009 | 19706476 |
| directed evolution of a filamentous fungus for thermotolerance. | filamentous fungi are the most widely used eukaryotic biocatalysts in industrial and chemical applications. consequently, there is tremendous interest in methodology that can use the power of genetics to develop strains with improved performance. for example, metarhizium anisopliae is a broad host range entomopathogenic fungus currently under intensive investigation as a biologically based alternative to chemical pesticides. however, it use is limited by the relatively low tolerance of this spec ... | 2009 | 19709419 |
| the small heat shock protein (shsp) genes in the silkworm, bombyx mori, and comparative analysis with other insect shsp genes. | small heat shock proteins (shsps) are products of heat shock response and of other stress responses, and ubiquitous in all three domains of life, archaea, bacteria, and eukarya. they mainly function as molecular chaperones to protect proteins from being denatured in extreme conditions. study on insect shsps could provide some insights into evolution of insects that have adapted to diverse niches in the world. | 2009 | 19715580 |
| assessment of polymicrobial infections in ticks in new york state. | ixodes scapularis ticks are clinically important hematophagous vectors. a single tick bite can lead to a polymicrobial infection. we determined the prevalence of polymicrobial infection with borrelia burgdorferi, anaplasma phagocytophilum, babesia microti, borrelia miyamotoi, and powassan virus in 286 adult ticks from the two counties in new york state where lyme disease is endemic, utilizing a masstag multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay. seventy-one percent of the ticks harbored at least ... | 2010 | 19725770 |
| update on babesiosis. | human babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne infectious disease caused by intraerythrocytic protozoan species of the genus babesia with many clinical features similar to those of malaria. over the last 50 years, the epidemiology of human babesiosis has changed from a few isolated cases to the establishment of endemic areas in the northeastern and midwestern united states. episodic cases are reported in europe, asia, africa, and south america. the severity of infection ranges from asymptomatic infe ... | 2009 | 19727410 |