| susceptibility of mosquito and tick cell lines to infection with various flaviviruses. | the genus flavivirus consists of more than 70 virus species and subtypes, the majority of which are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks, although some have no known vector (nkv). the ability of these viruses to infect cultured cells derived from mosquito or tick species offers a useful insight into the suitability of such vectors to harbour and replicate particular viruses. we undertook a comparative study of the susceptibility of mammalian vero cells, a clonal mosquito cell line (c6/36) and rece ... | 2004 | 15347394 |
| climate, vegetation and the distribution of rhipicephalus appendiculatus in africa. | | 1990 | 15463309 |
| genes transcribed in the salivary glands of female rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks infected with theileria parva. | we describe the generation of an auto-annotated index of genes that are expressed in the salivary glands of four-day fed female adult rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks. a total of 9162 est sequences were derived from an uninfected tick cdna library and 9844 ests were from a cdna library from ticks infected with theileria parva, which develop in type iii salivary gland acini. there were no major differences between abundantly expressed ests from the two cdna libraries, although there was evidenc ... | 2004 | 15475305 |
| endemic stability for theileria parva infections in ankole calves of the ankole ranching scheme, uganda. | a population-based study was carried out on the ankole ranching scheme in south-west uganda with the aim of determining the endemic status of theileria parva infections. for this purpose, the age-related sero-prevalence of t. parva and the specific calf mortality associated with the parasite were assessed. blood samples were collected from 931 ankole calves of up to 12 months of age from 81 randomly selected herds. the relationship between rainfall pattern and whole-body rhipicephalus appendicul ... | 2004 | 15580767 |
| molecular cloning and sequence analysis of cdnas encoding for boophilus microplus, haemaphysalis longicornis and rhipicephalus appendiculatus actins. | the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the actins from ticks, boophilus microplus, haemaphysalis longicornis and rhipicephalus appendiculatus, have been determined. nucleotide sequence analysis showed open reading frames of 1128-nucleotide-long encoding proteins of 376 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 41.82 kda each. comparison between the nucleic acid and deduced amino acid sequences as well as structural and phylogenetic analyses of these genes confirmed the high si ... | 2004 | 15631908 |
| variation in body size in the tick complex rhipicephalus appendiculatus/rhipicephalus zambeziensis. | we examined the relationship between body size and the phenology of the tick complex rhipicephalus appendiculatus/rhipicephalus zambeziensis. these ticks transmit theileria parva in cattle. in africa, the body size of r. appendiculatus increases with latitude while the body size of the morphologically similar rhipicephalus zambeziensis is constant at two different latitudes. a larger body size is necessary once survival becomes a constraint. the most plausible explanation for the smaller r. appe ... | 2004 | 15707294 |
| risk factors for tick attachment to smallholder dairy cattle in tanzania. | a cross-sectional study was conducted in tanga and iringa regions of tanzania, and a longitudinal study in tanga, to investigate tick-control methods and other factors influencing tick attachment to the cattle of smallholder dairy farms. most farmers reported applying acaricides at intervals of 1-2 weeks, most used acaricides that require on-farm dilution and most farmers incorrectly diluted the acaricides. rhipicephalus appendiculatus and boophilus spp. ticks were those most-frequently encounte ... | 2004 | 15737429 |
| the prevalence of serum antibodies to tick-borne infections in mbale district, uganda: the effect of agro-ecological zone, grazing management and age of cattle. | between august and october 2000, a cross-sectional study was conducted in smallholder dairy farms in mbale district, uganda to assess the prevalence of ticks and tick-borne diseases under different grazing systems and agro-ecological zones and understand the circumstances under which farmers operated. a questionnaire was administered to obtain information on dairy farm circumstances and practices. a total of 102 farms were visited and sera and ticks were collected from 478 animals. sero-prevalen ... | 2004 | 15861224 |
| a cross-reactive tick cement antigen is a candidate broad-spectrum tick vaccine. | truncated constructs of 64p (64trps), a secreted cement protein from salivary glands of the tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus, provided cross-protection against rhipicephalus sanguineus and ixodes ricinus, apparently by targeting antigens in the midgut and salivary glands of adults and nymphs, causing mortality. tick feeding on 64trp-immunised animals stimulated local inflammatory immune responses (involving basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, mast cells, macrophages and dendritic-like cells) t ... | 2005 | 15913855 |
| tick ecology: processes and patterns behind the epidemiological risk posed by ixodid ticks as vectors. | the population ecology of ticks is fundamental to the spatial and temporal variation in the risk of infection by tick-borne pathogens. tick population dynamics can only be fully understood by quantifying the rates of the demographic processes, which are influenced by both abiotic (climatic) factors acting on the free-living tick stages and biotic (host) responses to the tick as a parasite. within the framework of a population model, i review methods and results of attempts to quantify (1) rates ... | 2004 | 15938504 |
| effects of combining the fungi beauveria bassiana and metarhizium anisopliae on the mortality of the tick amblyomma variegatum (ixodidae) in relation to seasonal changes. | the effect of formulation, fungal concentration, type and seasonal changes on the mortality of the tick amblyomma variegatum was investigated. a previous study demonstrated high pathogenicity of strains of the fungi beauveria bassiana and metarhizium anisopliae against the ticks rhipicephalus appendiculatus and amblyomma variegatum (kaaya et al. j invertebr pathol 1996; 67: 15-20). the present study was undertaken to explore possible additive or synergistic effects of the two fungi on a. variega ... | 2005 | 15983739 |
| transcription analysis of the major antigenic protein 1 multigene family of three in vitro-cultured ehrlichia ruminantium isolates. | ehrlichia ruminantium, an obligate intracellular bacterium transmitted by ticks of the genus amblyomma, causes heartwater disease in ruminants. the gene coding for the major antigenic protein map1 is part of a multigene family consisting of a cluster containing 16 paralogs. in the search for differentially regulated genes between e. ruminantium grown in endothelial and tick cell lines that could be used in vaccine development and to determine if differences in the map1 gene cluster exist between ... | 2005 | 15995193 |
| identification of candidate sialome components expressed in ixodid tick salivary glands using secretion signal complementation in mammalian cells. | ixodid ticks manipulate mammalian host pathways by secreting molecules from salivary glands. novel cdnas containing functional secretion signals were isolated from ixodid tick salivary glands using a signal sequence trap. only 15/61 rhipicephalus appendiculatus and 1/7 amblyomma variegatum cdnas had significant identity (< 1e-15) to previously identified sequences. polypeptides that may interact with host pathways included a kinase inhibitor. two proteins encoded homologues of the yolk protein v ... | 2005 | 16033433 |
| comparison of manual and homogenizer methods for preparation of tick-derived stabilates of theileria parva: equivalence testing using an in vitro titration model. | theileria parva sporozoite stabilates are used in the infection and treatment method of immunization, a widely accepted control option for east coast fever in cattle. t. parva sporozoites are extracted from infected adult rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks either manually, using a pestle and a mortar, or by use of an electric homogenizer. a comparison of the two methods as a function of stabilate infectivity has never been documented. this study was designed to provide a quantitative comparison ... | 2005 | 16038395 |
| the transcriptome of the salivary glands of the female western black-legged tick ixodes pacificus (acari: ixodidae). | sequencing of an ixodes pacificus salivary gland cdna library yielded 1068 sequences with an average undetermined nucleotide of 1.9% and an average length of 487 base pairs. assembly of the expressed sequence tags yielded 557 contigs, 138 of which appear to code for secreted peptides or proteins based on translation of a putative signal peptide. based on the blastx similarity of these contigs to 66 matches of ixodes scapularis peptide sequences, only 58% sequence identity was found, indicating a ... | 2005 | 16102420 |
| survival of unfed rhipicephalus appendiculatus and rhipicephalus zambeziensis adults. | two ixodid tick species, rhipicephalus appendiculatus (neumann) and rhipicephalus zambeziensis (walker et al.) (acari: ixodidae), both originating from the southern province of zambia, were used to study the survival time of adults at a range of different humidities and temperatures. in general, the experiment clearly demonstrates the different survival times of the two species in relation to the climatic conditions tested: survival of r. zambeziensis was better under more extreme conditions of ... | 2005 | 16134972 |
| tick-borne rickettsioses around the world: emerging diseases challenging old concepts. | during most of the 20th century, the epidemiology of tick-borne rickettsioses could be summarized as the occurrence of a single pathogenic rickettsia on each continent. an element of this paradigm suggested that the many other characterized and noncharacterized rickettsiae isolated from ticks were not pathogenic to humans. in this context, it was considered that relatively few tick-borne rickettsiae caused human disease. this concept was modified extensively from 1984 through 2005 by the identif ... | 2005 | 16223955 |
| rodent malaria parasites plasmodium chabaudi and p. vinckei do not increase their rates of gametocytogenesis in response to mosquito probing. | several vector-borne infectious agents facultatively alter their life history strategies in response to local vector densities. some evidence suggests that malaria parasites invest more heavily in transmission stage production (gametocytogenesis) when vectors are present. such a strategy could rapidly increase malaria transmission rates, particularly when adult mosquitoes begin to appear after dry seasons. however, in contrast to a recent experiment with a rodent malaria (plasmodium chabaudi), w ... | 2005 | 16243686 |
| two serine protease inhibitors (serpins) that induce a bovine protective immune response against rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks. | we have previously undertaken preliminary characterization of two rhipicephalus appendiculutus serine protease inhibitors (ras-1 and -2) as anti-tick vaccine candidates. in this study, to clarify this hypothesis, we generated and further characterized recombinant ras-1 and -2 (rras-1 and -2) and tested their potency as a cocktail anti-tick vaccine in cattle. rt-pcr analysis showed that ras-1 and -2 mrna transcripts are expressed during all life cycle stages of ticks, independent of sex. as judge ... | 2006 | 16314008 |
| histamine scavenging attenuates endotoxin-induced acute lung injury. | histamine is an important mediator of early and late inflammatory responses. here we asked whether scavenging of endogenous histamine by the arthropod-derived histamine binding protein ev131 diminishes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards) induced by inhaled endotoxin. we demonstrate that ev131 (360 microg given intranasally) reduced endotoxin-induced bronchoconstriction and recruitment of neutrophils. furthermore, ev131 administration diminished tnf-alpha and protein leak in the bronchoalv ... | 2005 | 16387688 |
| acaricide efficiency of amitraz/cypermethrin and abamectin pour-on preparations in game. | the efficacy of an amitraz/cypermethrin pour-on preparation (1% w/v each) was tested against natural tick infestations of buffaloes, eland and blesbok in three separate trials. the eland were also treated with a 0.02% abamectin (w/v) acaricidal pour-on preparation. the amitraz/cypermethrin pour-on was effective against amblyomma hebraeum, rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, rhipicephalus appendiculatus and hyalomma marginatum rufipes on the buffaloes. both acaricides were effective against r. appendi ... | 2005 | 16562734 |
| ticks on crested francolins, francolinus sephaena, and on the vegetation on a farm in limpopo province, south africa. | ticks were collected at approximately bi-monthly intervals between june 1996 and june 1997 from crested francolins, francolinus sephaena, and from the vegetation on a mixed cattle and wildlife farm in limpopo province, south africa. the birds were infested with the immature stages of 13 tick species, of which amblyomma hebraeum, amblyomma marmoreum and hyalomma marginatum rufipes were the most numerous and prevalent. ten ixodid tick species were collected from the vegetation, of which the immatu ... | 2005 | 16562738 |
| comparison of preservation methods of rhipicephalus appendiculatus (acari: ixodidae) for reliable dna amplification by pcr. | five differently preserved groups of adult rhipicephalus appendiculatus specimens were compared for quality of dna extracted. three methods were used to extract dna from specimens i.e. two simple mosquito validated dna extraction methods and a tick validated method. extraction of dna from tick legs was attempted. the quality of dna extracted was evaluated by the success of pcr amplification of the its2 gene and the mitochondrial coi gene fragment. fresh specimens (i.e. killed just before extract ... | 2006 | 16596352 |
| an antivector vaccine protects against a lethal vector-borne pathogen. | vaccines that target blood-feeding disease vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks, have the potential to protect against the many diseases caused by vector-borne pathogens. we tested the ability of an anti-tick vaccine derived from a tick cement protein (64trp) of rhipicephalus appendiculatus to protect mice against tick-borne encephalitis virus (tbev) transmitted by infected ixodes ricinus ticks. the vaccine has a "dual action" in immunized animals: when infested with ticks, the inflammatory and ... | 2006 | 16604154 |
| comparative genomics of the syndecans defines an ancestral genomic context associated with matrilins in vertebrates. | the syndecans are the major family of transmembrane proteoglycans in animals and are known for multiple roles in cell interactions and growth factor signalling during development, inflammatory response, wound-repair and tumorigenesis. although syndecans have been cloned from several invertebrate and vertebrate species, the extent of conservation of the family across the animal kingdom is unknown and there are gaps in our knowledge of chordate syndecans. here, we develop a new level of knowledge ... | 2006 | 16620374 |
| potential arbovirus emergence and implications for the united kingdom. | arboviruses have evolved a number of strategies to survive environmental challenges. this review examines the factors that may determine arbovirus emergence, provides examples of arboviruses that have emerged into new habitats, reviews the arbovirus situation in western europe in detail, discusses potential arthropod vectors, and attempts to predict the risk for arbovirus emergence in the united kingdom. we conclude that climate change is probably the most important requirement for the emergence ... | 2006 | 16704800 |
| evaluation of four modelling techniques to predict the potential distribution of ticks using indigenous cattle infestations as calibration data. | efficient tick and tick-borne disease control is a major goal in the efforts to improve the livestock industry in developing countries. to gain a better understanding of the distribution and abundance of livestock ticks under changing environmental conditions, a country-wide field survey of tick infestations on indigenous cattle was recently carried out in tanzania. this paper evaluates four models to generate tick predictive maps including areas between the localities that were surveyed. four t ... | 2006 | 16736278 |
| tickborne arbovirus surveillance in market livestock, nairobi, kenya. | to identify tickborne viruses circulating in kenya and the surrounding region, we conducted surveillance at abattoirs in nairobi, kenya. species of ticks collected included rhipicephalus pulchellus (56%), amblyomma gemma (14%), r. appendiculatus (8%), a. variegatum (6%), and others. a total of 56 virus isolates were obtained, 26 from a. gemma, 17 from r. pulchellus, 6 from a. variegatum, and 7 from other species. virus isolates included dugbe virus (dugv), an unknown virus related to dugv, thogo ... | 2006 | 16836823 |
| theileria parva and the bovine ctl response: down but not out? | theileria parva is a tick-borne intracellular protozoan of cattle, with obligate sequential differentiation stages in lymphocytes and erythrocytes. immunity is mediated by cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctl) that target and clear parasitized lymphocytes but allow persistence of infected erythrocytes, which are required for transmission to the tick. the life cycle of t. parva is haploid with the exception of a brief diploid stage in the tick vector during which sexual recombination occurs. there is evi ... | 2006 | 16842270 |
| acquisition and transmission of theileria parva by vector tick, rhipicephalus appendiculatus. | in order to investigate the transmission dynamics of theileria parva (t. parva) by the brown ear tick, rhipicephalus appendiculatus (r. appendiculatus), under experimental conditions, detection of t. parva in ticks and cattle was performed by a quantitative real-time pcr assay. a calf inoculated with a t. parva mixture became pcr-positive for t. parva infection on day 8 post-inoculation, and subsequently, nymphal ticks were introduced and maintained to feed on the infected calf for 6 days. engor ... | 2006 | 16899209 |
| cloned theileria parva produces lesser infections in ticks compared to uncloned t. parva despite similar infections in cattle. | experimental transmissions of cloned theileria parva in cattle with rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks were compared to transmissions with uncloned t. parva during studies on the potential for genetic recombination during syngamy of theileria to produce antigenic diversity for evasion of bovine immunity. prevalence and abundance of t. parva infection in adult ticks, which resulted from the feeding of nymphs on the calves, were significantly higher in the uncloned compared to the cloned t. parva. ... | 2006 | 16958269 |
| extensive genotypic diversity in a recombining population of the apicomplexan parasite theileria parva. | we evaluated sexual recombination in the apicomplexan parasite theileria parva using genome-wide marker analysis of haploid sporozoite populations obtained from infected rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks. analysis of 231 parasite clones derived by in vitro infection of bovine lymphocytes revealed 48 distinct combinations of 64 polymorphic marker loci. one genotype accounted for more than 75% of the clones, and the population was highly inbred with respect to this. the occurrence of frequent rec ... | 2006 | 16988220 |
| an outbreak of east coast fever on the comoros: a consequence of the import of immunised cattle from tanzania? | in 2003 and 2004, a severe epidemic decimated the cattle population on grand comore, the largest island of the union of comoros. fatalities started soon after the import of cattle from tanzania. theileria parva and its vector, rhipicephalus appendiculatus, could be identified as the main culprits of the epidemic. characterisation by multilocus genotyping revealed that the t. parva parasites isolated on the comoros were identical to the components of the muguga cocktail vaccine used in tanzania t ... | 2007 | 16996692 |
| a combined bioinformatics and chemoinformatics approach for the development of new antiparasitic drugs. | a modern concept for the development of novel antiparasitic drugs is the combination of bioinformatics and chemoinformatics approaches. this covers, for example, the identification of target proteins serving as molecular points of attack for parasiticides--the idea is that, owing to some essential role, inhibition of a target protein should eradicate the parasite. to prevent toxicity problems for vertebrate host organisms, it is advantageous that these proteins show significant differences from ... | 2007 | 17070005 |
| vaccination of cattle with tickgard induces cross-reactive antibodies binding to conserved linear peptides of bm86 homologues in boophilus decoloratus. | vaccines based on recombinant bm86 gut antigen from boophilus microplus are a useful component of integrated control strategies against b. microplus infestations of cattle. the capacity of such vaccines to control heterologous infestations by two african tick species was investigated. the mean weight of engorged female ticks and mean egg mass per tick were significantly reduced in b. decoloratus infestations, but there was no effect of the vaccine against adult rhipicephalus appendiculatus. we c ... | 2007 | 17070625 |
| malaria parasite growth is stimulated by mosquito probing. | the ability of malaria parasites to respond positively to the presence of feeding mosquito vectors would clearly be advantageous to transmission. in this study, anopheles stephensi mosquitoes probed mice infected with the rodent malaria parasite, plasmodium chabaudi. growth of asexual stages was accelerated and gametocytes appeared 1-2 days earlier than in controls. this first study, to our knowledge, of the effects of mosquitoes on 'in-host' growth and development of plasmodium has profound imp ... | 2005 | 17148162 |
| novel acetylcholinesterase target site for malaria mosquito control. | current anticholinesterase pesticides were developed during world war ii and are toxic to mammals because they target a catalytic serine residue of acetylcholinesterases (aches) in insects and in mammals. a sequence analysis of aches from 73 species and a three-dimensional model of a malaria-carrying mosquito (anopheles gambiae) ache (agache) reported here show that c286 and r339 of agache are conserved at the opening of the active site of aches in 17 invertebrate and four insect species, respec ... | 2006 | 17183688 |
| gene silencing of the tick protective antigens, bm86, bm91 and subolesin, in the one-host tick boophilus microplus by rna interference. | the use of rna interference (rnai) to assess gene function has been demonstrated in several three-host tick species but adaptation of rnai to the one-host tick, boophilus microplus, has not been reported. we evaluated the application of rnai in b. microplus and the effect of gene silencing on three tick-protective antigens: bm86, bm91 and subolesin. gene-specific double-stranded (dsrna) was injected into two tick stages, freshly molted unfed and engorged females, and specific gene silencing was ... | 2007 | 17196597 |
| factors influencing the distribution of questing ticks and the prevalence estimation of t. parva infection in brown ear ticks in the tanga region, tanzania. | questing ticks from various districts and agro-ecological zones (aez) in the tanga region of tanzania were studied for a two-year period between september 1999 and july 2001. collections of both nymphal and adult ticks occurred at 29 sites using a blanket or white cloth dragging technique. the species recorded in the order of decreasing abundance were rhipicephalus appendiculatus, boophilus spp., and ambylomma variegatum. rhipicephalus appendiculatus field infestation levels varied across admini ... | 2006 | 17249338 |
| ixodid ticks on dogs in the eastern region of the eastern cape province, south africa. | the objective of this study was to determine the species composition and geographic distribution of ixodid ticks infesting domestic dogs in the eastern region of the eastern cape province. seventy-two communal cattle dip-tanks within this region were randomly selected as survey localities and their geographic coordinates recorded. in addition to ticks that were collected from five cattle and five goats at each of the dip-tanks, ticks were also collected from five dogs whenever possible. no dogs ... | 2006 | 17283731 |
| rhipicephalus appendiculatus and r. zambeziensis (acari: ixodidae) from zambia: a molecular reassessment of their species status and identification. | the closely related species rhipicephalus appendiculatus and r. zambeziensis co-occur in a wide area in zambia. in this area, specimens of both species have been collected on the same individual host at the same time. in addition, specimens that are morphologically intermediate between r. appendiculatus and r. zambeziensis have been found in this area. these observations cast some doubt on the species status of r. appendiculatus and r. zambeziensis. because the two taxa have varied influences on ... | 2007 | 17288005 |
| irae: an asparaginyl endopeptidase (legumain) in the gut of the hard tick ixodes ricinus. | ticks are ectoparasitic blood-feeders and important vectors for pathogens including arboviruses, rickettsiae, spirochetes and protozoa. as obligate blood-feeders, one possible strategy to retard disease transmission is disruption of the parasite's ability to digest host proteins. however, the constituent peptidases in the parasite gut and their potential interplay in the digestion of the blood meal are poorly understood. we have characterised a novel asparaginyl endopeptidase (legumain) from the ... | 2007 | 17336985 |
| further evidence for geographic differentiation in r. appendiculatus (acari: ixodidae) from eastern and southern provinces of zambia. | studies in the biology, ecology and behaviour of r. appendiculatus in zambia have shown considerable variation within and between populations often associated with their geographical origin. we studied variation in the mitochondrial coi (mtcoi) gene of adult r. appendiculatus ticks originating from the eastern and southern provinces of zambia. rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks from the two provinces were placed into two groups on the mtcoi sequence data tree. one group comprised all haplotypes ... | 2007 | 17340215 |
| tick-borne flavivirus infection in ixodes scapularis larvae: development of a novel method for synchronous viral infection of ticks. | following a bite from an infected tick, tick-borne flaviviruses cause encephalitis, meningitis and hemorrhagic fever in humans. although these viruses spend most of their time in the tick, little is known regarding the virus-vector interactions. we developed a simple method for synchronously infecting ixodes scapularis larvae with langat virus (lgtv) by immersion in media containing the virus. this technique resulted in approximately 96% of ticks becoming infected. lgtv infection and replication ... | 2007 | 17490700 |
| immunity against ixodes scapularis salivary proteins expressed within 24 hours of attachment thwarts tick feeding and impairs borrelia transmission. | in north america, the black-legged tick, ixodes scapularis, an obligate haematophagus arthropod, is a vector of several human pathogens including borrelia burgdorferi, the lyme disease agent. in this report, we show that the tick salivary gland transcriptome and proteome is dynamic and changes during the process of engorgement. we demonstrate, using a guinea pig model of i. scapularis feeding and b. burgdorferi transmission, that immunity directed against salivary proteins expressed in the first ... | 2007 | 17505544 |
| the tick salivary protein, salp15, inhibits the development of experimental asthma. | activation of th2 cd4(+) t cells is necessary and sufficient to elicit allergic airway disease, a mouse model with many features of human allergic asthma. effectively controlling the activities of these cells could be a panacea for asthma therapy. blood-feeding parasites have devised remarkable strategies to effectively evade the immune response. for example, ticks such as ixodes scapularis, which must remain on the host for up to 7 days to feed to repletion, secrete immunosuppressive proteins. ... | 2007 | 17513755 |
| cytokine responses of cd4+ t cells during a plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi (er) blood-stage infection in mice initiated by the natural route of infection. | investigation of host responses to blood stages of plasmodium spp, and the immunopathology associated with this phase of the life cycle are often performed on mice infected directly with infected red blood cells. thus, the effects of mosquito bites and the pre-erythrocytic stages of the parasite, which would be present in natural infection, are ignored in this paper, plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi infections of mice injected directly with infected red blood cells were compared with those of mice i ... | 2007 | 17555592 |
| attachment duration required for rhipicephalus appendiculatus to transmit theileria parva to the host. | theileria parva, the agent of east coast fever (ecf), is transmitted to the host during the blood meal feeding of rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks. in order to investigate the relationship between the attachment duration of r. appendiculatus and the transmission of t. parva, infected adult ticks were allowed to attach to naive mice for variable lengths of time. attached ticks and host animal's back skin biopsies from the tick attachment site were collected daily, starting from 24 hours post-ti ... | 2007 | 17627444 |
| influence of host immunity on parasite diversity in theileria parva. | we examined the influence of host immunity on the genotypic diversity of the intracellular transforming cattle parasite theileria parva. by tracking the emergence of discrete parasite genotypes in an animal challenged with a bulk stabilate following immunization with its major component clone, we observed a profound modulation of genotypic frequencies in the breakthrough schizont population. in particular, no incidences of the immunizing clone were observed and a progressive decline was apparent ... | 2007 | 17635866 |
| integrated pest management: the push-pull approach for controlling insect pests and weeds of cereals, and its potential for other agricultural systems including animal husbandry. | this paper describes the 'push-pull' or 'stimulo-deterrent diversionary' strategy in relation to current and potential examples from our own experiences. the push-pull effect is established by exploiting semiochemicals to repel insect pests from the crop ('push') and to attract them into trap crops ('pull'). the systems exemplified here have been developed for subsistence farming in africa and delivery of the semiochemicals is entirely by companion cropping, i.e. intercropping for the push and t ... | 2008 | 17652071 |
| detection of rickettsia africae in rhipicephalus (boophilus) decoloratus ticks from the republic of botswana, south africa. | a total of 53 engorged adult ticks belonging to the species rhipicephalus (boophilus) decoloratus (n = 9), rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi (n = 27), rhipicephalus appendiculatus (n = 9), amblyomma hebraeum (n = 5), and hyalomma marginatum turanicum (n = 3), were removed from oryx in botswana (south africa). they were tested for the presence of spotted fever group (sfg) rickettsia and anaplasma phagocytophilum using polymerase chain reaction (pcr). seventy-seven percent of r. decoloratus as well as ... | 2007 | 17690416 |
| goats as alternative hosts of cattle ticks. | the objective of this study was to compare the presence on goats and cattle of adult ticks that usually infest cattle. to this end ticks collected from sets of five goats were compared with those collected from sets of five cattle at 72 communal dip-tanks in the eastern region of the eastern cape province. amblyomma hebraeum was present on goats at 25 and on cattle at 39 dip-tanks, and a total of 61 goats and 138 cattle were infested. adult rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus was present on goat ... | 2007 | 17708147 |
| a rapid and sensitive intracellular flow cytometric assay to identify theileria parva infection within target cells. | theileria parva is an intracellular protozoan parasite transmitted by ticks that causes a fatal lymphoproliferative disease of cattle known as east coast fever. vaccination against the disease currently relies on inoculation of the infective sporozoite stage of the parasite and simultaneous treatment with long-acting formulations of oxytetracycline. sporozoites are maintained as frozen stabilates of triturated infected ticks and the method requires accurate titration of stabilates to determine a ... | 2008 | 17892619 |
| coinfection with antigenically and genetically distinct virulent strains of babesia bovis is maintained through all phases of the parasite life cycle. | antigenic polymorphism is a defining characteristic of the babesia bovis variable merozoite surface antigen (vmsa) family. sequence analysis strongly suggests that recombination between virulent strains contributes to vmsa diversity. while meiosis during the aneuploid stage of the parasite's life cycle in the tick vector rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus is the most probable source of interstrain recombination, there is no definitive evidence that coinfection of the mammalian host or r. microp ... | 2007 | 17893136 |
| ticks associated with the three largest wild ruminant species in southern africa. | the objective of this study was to assess the host status of the three largest southern african wild ruminants, namely giraffes, giraffa camelopardalis, african buffaloes, syncerus caffer, and eland, taurotragus oryx for ixodid ticks. to this end recently acquired unpublished data are added here to already published findings on the tick burdens of these animals, and the total numbers and species of ticks recorded on 12 giraffes, 18 buffaloes and 36 eland are summarized and discussed. twenty-eigh ... | 2007 | 17933365 |
| global comparative analysis of ests from the southern cattle tick, rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus. | the southern cattle tick, rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus, is an economically important parasite of cattle and can transmit several pathogenic microorganisms to its cattle host during the feeding process. understanding the biology and genomics of r. microplus is critical to developing novel methods for controlling these ticks. | 2007 | 17935616 |
| live immunisation against theileria parva: containing or spreading the disease? | although a live vaccine against theileria parva has been available for over 30 years, concerns that vaccine strains can become established in resident tick populations have impeded its uptake in endemic areas. recently, oura et al. have examined the persistence of vaccine strains in immunised cattle using polymorphic genomic markers. they confirm that elements of the vaccine establish a carrier state in vaccinated animals and present evidence that alleles associated with vaccine strains emerge i ... | 2007 | 17964219 |
| biological differences within rhipicephalus appendiculatus neumann (acari: ixodidae populations in kenya. | differences in biological parameters of rhipicephalus appendiculatus neumann, the brown ear tick, were investigated. they included engorgement weight of larvae, nymphs and females, fecundity, size of unfed females and mean larval and nymphal duration post-repletion on rabbits to completion of the moult. ticks were collected from four geographically isolated zones in kenya and from nymphs and females, size of unfed females and weight of egg batches per tick were noted (p < 0.05). it is concluded ... | 2007 | 17985577 |
| an update on the ecological distribution of ixodid ticks infesting cattle in rwanda: countrywide cross-sectional survey in the wet and the dry season. | as part of the epidemiological studies aimed at developing an east coast fever (ecf) immunisation control strategy, which combines an infection and treatment method with strategic tick control, a countrywide tick survey was carried out in both the dry and the wet season to determine the abundance and the dynamics of the tick populations infesting cattle in rwanda. six ixodid tick species where identified from a total of 12,814 tick specimens collected. rhipicephalus appendiculatus, the main vect ... | 2007 | 18040870 |
| cattle ticks of the genera rhipicephalus and amblyomma of economic importance in tanzania: distribution assessed with gis based on an extensive field survey. | in order to implement a robust integrated tick and tick-borne disease control programme in tanzania, based on ecological and epidemiological knowledge of ticks and their associated diseases, a national tick and sero-surveillance study was carried out in all 21 regions of the mainland, as well as on mafia island, between 1998 and 2001. the current distributions of rhipicephalus appendiculatus, r. pravus, amblyomma variegatum, a. gemma, and a. lepidum are illustrated and discussed. tick distributi ... | 2007 | 18044004 |
| an insight into the sialome of the soft tick, ornithodorus parkeri. | while hard ticks (ixodidae) take several days to feed on their hosts, soft ticks (argasidae) feed faster, usually taking less than 1h per meal. saliva assists in the feeding process by providing a cocktail of anti-hemostatic, anti-inflammatory and immunomodullatory compounds. saliva of hard ticks has been shown to contain several families of genes each having multiple members, while those of soft ticks are relatively unexplored. analysis of the salivary transcriptome of the soft tick ornithodoru ... | 2008 | 18070662 |
| comparative sialomics between hard and soft ticks: implications for the evolution of blood-feeding behavior. | ticks evolved various mechanisms to modulate their host's hemostatic and immune defenses. differences in the anti-hemostatic repertoires suggest that hard and soft ticks evolved anti-hemostatic mechanisms independently, but raise questions on the conservation of salivary gland proteins in the ancestral tick lineage. to address this issue, the sialome (salivary gland secretory proteome) from the soft tick, argas monolakensis, was determined by proteomic analysis and cdna library construction of s ... | 2008 | 18070664 |
| variability and action mechanism of a family of anticomplement proteins in ixodes ricinus. | ticks are blood feeding arachnids that characteristically take a long blood meal. they must therefore counteract host defence mechanisms such as hemostasis, inflammation and the immune response. this is achieved by expressing batteries of salivary proteins coded by multigene families. | 2008 | 18167559 |
| distantly related lipocalins share two conserved clusters of hydrophobic residues: use in homology modeling. | lipocalins are widely distributed in nature and are found in bacteria, plants, arthropoda and vertebra. in hematophagous arthropods, they are implicated in the successful accomplishment of the blood meal, interfering with platelet aggregation, blood coagulation and inflammation and in the transmission of disease parasites such as trypanosoma cruzi and borrelia burgdorferi. the pairwise sequence identity is low among this family, often below 30%, despite a well conserved tertiary structure. under ... | 2008 | 18190694 |
| genetic variation in rhipicephalus appendiculatus (acari: ixodidae) from zambia: correlating genetic and ecological variation with rhipicephalus appendiculatus from eastern and southern africa. | based on their ecology, rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks from eastern and southern africa have been divided into three groups. we investigated how two geographic genetically differentiated stocks of r. appendiculatus from the southern and the eastern provinces of zambia, representing two ecological groups, i.e., southern african and transition groups, respectively, genetically compare to stocks from east africa (rwanda) and southern africa (zimbabwe and south africa). the its2 and two mitochon ... | 2007 | 18260504 |
| an immunoglobulin binding protein (antigen 5) of the stable fly (diptera: muscidae) salivary gland stimulates bovine immune responses. | the stable fly, stomoxys calcitrans (l.) (diptera: muscidae), is an economically important pest of livestock. previous studies demonstrated lymphocyte suppression by crude salivary gland extract (sge) of the stable fly. a dominant 27-kda protein identified in the sge was reported to stimulate immunodominant antibody responses in exposed cattle. the purpose of this study was to determine whether this protein, now identified as ahomolog of insect proteins named antigen 5 (ag5), was responsible for ... | 2008 | 18283948 |
| a novel sine family occurs frequently in both genomic dna and transcribed sequences in ixodid ticks of the arthropod sub-phylum chelicerata. | reassociation kinetics and flow cytometry data indicate that ixodid tick genomes are large, relative to most arthropods, containing>or=10(9) base pairs. the molecular basis for this is unknown. we have identified a novel small interspersed element with features of a trna-derived sine, designated ruka, in genomic sequences of rhipicephalus appendiculatus and boophilus (rhipicephalus) microplus ticks. the sine was also identified in expressed sequence tag (est) databases derived from several tissu ... | 2008 | 18394826 |
| cellular and molecular characterization of an embryonic cell line (bme26) from the tick rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus. | the cellular and molecular characteristics of a cell line (bme26) derived from embryos of the cattle tick rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus were studied. the cells contained glycogen inclusions, numerous mitochondria, and vesicles with heterogeneous electron densities dispersed throughout the cytoplasm. vesicles contained lipids and sequestered palladium meso-porphyrin (pd-mp) and rhodamine-hemoglobin, suggesting their involvement in the autophagic and endocytic pathways. the cells phagocytose ... | 2008 | 18405834 |
| structure, function, and evolution of biogenic amine-binding proteins in soft ticks. | two highly abundant lipocalins, monomine and monotonin, have been isolated from the salivary gland of the soft tick argas monolakensis and shown to bind histamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-ht), respectively. the crystal structures of monomine and a paralog of monotonin were determined in the presence of ligands to compare the determinants of ligand binding. both the structures and binding measurements indicate that the proteins have a single binding site rather than the two sites previously des ... | 2008 | 18445596 |
| a cysteine protease is critical for babesia spp. transmission in haemaphysalis ticks. | vector ticks possess a unique system that enables them to digest large amounts of host blood and to transmit various animal and human pathogens, suggesting the existence of evolutionally acquired proteolytic mechanisms. we report here the molecular and reverse genetic characterization of a multifunctional cysteine protease, longipain, from the babesial parasite vector tick haemaphysalis longicornis. longipain shares structural similarity with papain-family cysteine proteases obtained from invert ... | 2008 | 18483546 |
| insight into the sialome of the castor bean tick, ixodes ricinus. | in recent years, there have been several sialome projects revealing transcripts expressed in the salivary glands of ticks, which are important vectors of several human diseases. here, we focused on the sialome of the european vector of lyme disease, ixodes ricinus. | 2008 | 18489795 |
| immunomodulatory arsenal of nymphal ticks. | ticks have developed their own immunomodulatory mechanisms to inhibit the host inflammatory response. one of them involves the ability to subvert the cytokine network at the site of tick feeding by secreting cytokine binding molecules. most studies have focused on the immunomodulatory prowess of adult female ticks. here we describe anti-cytokine activity in salivary gland extracts (sges) prepared from 2-day-fed nymphs of dermacentor reticulatus fabricius, ixodes ricinus l., rhipicephalus appendi ... | 2008 | 18498617 |
| molecular evolution of cide family proteins: novel domain formation in early vertebrates and the subsequent divergence. | cide family proteins including cidea, cideb and cidec/fsp27, contain an n-terminal cide-n domain that shares sequence similarity to the n-terminal cad domain (ncd) of dna fragmentation factors dffa/dff45/icad and dffb/dff40/cad, and a unique c-terminal cide-c domain. we have previously shown that cide proteins are newly emerged regulators closely associated with the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and liver steatosis. they modulate many metabolic processes such as lip ... | 2008 | 18500987 |
| reliminary survey of ticks (acari: ixodidae) on cattle in central equatoria state, southern sudan. | in a preliminary survey conducted in 2005, the species composition and seasonality of ticks infesting cattle in central equatoria state, southern sudan was determined. three locations were selected (gumbo, khor rumla and nyaing) and surveyed every 3 months. two cattle herds in each of the three locations were visited four times during the study period. total body collections of ticks were made from each of five cattle (nilotic zebu breed) kept in six different herds. four tick genera and ten spe ... | 2008 | 18575063 |
| climate extremes promote fatal co-infections during canine distemper epidemics in african lions. | extreme climatic conditions may alter historic host-pathogen relationships and synchronize the temporal and spatial convergence of multiple infectious agents, triggering epidemics with far greater mortality than those due to single pathogens. here we present the first data to clearly illustrate how climate extremes can promote a complex interplay between epidemic and endemic pathogens that are normally tolerated in isolation, but with co-infection, result in catastrophic mortality. a 1994 canine ... | 2008 | 18575601 |
| growth of tick-borne encephalitis virus (european subtype) in cell lines from vector and non-vector ticks. | we undertook a comparative study of the susceptibility of different tick cell lines to infection with the european subtype of tick-borne encephalitis virus (tbev), prototype strain neudoerfl. the growth of tbev was investigated in lines derived from vector ixodes ricinus l. ticks (ire/ctvm18, 19, and 20), as well as non-vector ticks, namely ixodes scapularis say (ide2), boophilus microplus canestrini (bme/ctvm2), hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum koch (hae/ctvm9), rhipicephalus appendiculatus neuma ... | 2008 | 18602711 |
| suppression of cell proliferation and cytokine expression by hl-p36, a tick salivary gland-derived protein of haemaphysalis longicornis. | previously, a putative immunosuppressant-coding gene was identified from a complementary dna library derived from the salivary glands of partially-fed haemaphysalis longicornis. using real-time polymerase chain reaction, the gene was shown to be predominantly expressed during blood feeding with the site of expression being mainly in the salivary glands; this was confirmed by western blotting analysis. to investigate the function of this novel protein, in this study, we examined the proliferative ... | 2009 | 18624730 |
| a novel clade of cysteinyl leukotriene scavengers in soft ticks. | inflammation is an important vertebrate defense mechanism against ecto-parasites for which ticks have evolved numerous mechanisms of modulation. am-33 and tsgp4, related lipocalins from the soft ticks argas monolakensis and ornithodoros savignyi bind cysteinyl leukotrienes with high affinity as measured by isothermal titration calorimetry. this was confirmed in a smooth muscle bioassay that measured contraction of guinea pig ileum induced by leukotriene c4 where both proteins inhibited contracti ... | 2008 | 18675910 |
| pcr-based detection of blood parasites in cattle and adult rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks. | to ascertain the infection rate for tick-borne pathogens in zambia, an epidemiological survey of theileria parva, babesia bigemina and anaplasma marginale in traditionally managed sanga cattle was conducted using pcr. of the 71 native zambian cattle, 28 (39.4%) were positive for t. parva, 16 (22.5%) for b. bigemina and 34 (47.9%) for a. marginale. the mixed infection rate in cattle was 8.5% (6/71), 16.9% (12/71), 7.0% (5/71) and 2.8% (2/71) for t. parva/b. bigemina, t. parva/a. marginale, b. big ... | 2009 | 18700182 |
| an insight into the salivary transcriptome and proteome of the soft tick and vector of epizootic bovine abortion, ornithodoros coriaceus. | the salivary glands of blood-sucking arthropods contain a redundant 'magic potion' that counteracts their vertebrate host's hemostasis, inflammation, and immunity. we here describe the salivary transcriptome and proteomics (sialome) of the soft tick ornithodoros coriaceus. the resulting analysis helps to consolidate the classification of common proteins found in both soft and hard ticks, such as the lipocalins, kunitz, cystatin, basic tail, hebraein, defensin, til domain, metalloprotease, 5'-nuc ... | 2008 | 18725333 |
| rhipicephalus appendiculatus: characterization of a testis-associated protein. | a novel gene coding for rhipicephalus appendiculatus male-specific protein (ramp) was identified in a cdna library constructed from the testis/vas deferens of r. appendiculatus ticks. this gene encodes a secreted protein exclusively expressed in the testis/vas deferens. the putative ramp amino acid sequence contains a signal peptide and has 29% amino acid identity with male-specific is5 gene of ixodes scapularis. gene expression studies revealed that ramp mrna was up-regulated in male ticks duri ... | 2008 | 18796305 |
| effects of anti-tick cocktail vaccine against rhipicephalus appendiculatus. | rhipicephalus appendiculatus serpin-3 (ras-3), r. appendiculatus serpin-4 (ras-4) and a 36-kda immuno-dominant protein of r. appendiculatus (rim36) were reported as candidate antigens for the anti-tick vaccine to control ixodid ticks. in the present study, we generated recombinant proteins of ras-3 (rras-3), ras-4 (rras-4) and rim36 (rrim36), and assessed their potency as an anti-tick cocktail vaccine in cattle model. rt-pcr analysis showed that ras-3, ras-4 and rim36 transcripts were detected i ... | 2008 | 18828446 |
| the prevalence of serum antibodies to ehrlichia ruminantium infection in ranch cattle in tanzania: a cross-sectional study. | serum samples collected in a cross-sectional survey of grazing cattle on manyara ranch, monduli district, tanzania, were tested by indirect major antigenic protein 1 fragment b (map 1-b) elisa to determine the seroprevalence of ehrlichia ruminantium and to assess ranch-level risk factors for heartwater. heartwater-exposed cattle were widespread on the ranch and overall seroprevalence was 50.3% (95% ci, 44.9-55.6), enough to indicate an endemically unstable situation. multivariate logistic regres ... | 2008 | 18846851 |
| exploring the mialome of ticks: an annotated catalogue of midgut transcripts from the hard tick, dermacentor variabilis (acari: ixodidae). | ticks are obligate blood feeders. the midgut is the first major region of the body where blood and microbes ingested with the blood meal come in contact with the tick's internal tissues. little is known about protein expression in the digestive tract of ticks. in this study, for analysis of global gene expression during tick attachment and feeding, we generated and sequenced 1,679 random transcripts (ests) from cdna libraries from the midguts of female ticks at varying stages of feeding. | 2008 | 19021911 |
| identification of a complex peptidergic neuroendocrine network in the hard tick, rhipicephalus appendiculatus. | neuropeptides are crucial regulators of development and various physiological functions but little is known about their identity, expression and function in vectors of pathogens causing serious diseases, such as ticks. therefore, we have used antibodies against multiple insect and crustacean neuropeptides to reveal the presence of these bioactive molecules in peptidergic neurons and cells of the ixodid tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus. these antibodies have detected 15 different immunoreactive ... | 2009 | 19082627 |
| ir-lbp, an ixodes ricinus tick salivary ltb4-binding lipocalin, interferes with host neutrophil function. | during their blood meal, ticks secrete a wide variety of proteins that can interfere with their host's defense mechanisms. among these proteins, lipocalins play a major role in the modulation of the inflammatory response. | 2008 | 19096526 |
| 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 |
| prevalence of anaplasma marginale in different tick species from ngorongoro crater, tanzania. | in 2001, ngorongoro crater was infested with high density of ticks on grassland, livestock and wildlife which was also associated with high mortality. adult ticks were collected, identified, processed for nucleic acids extraction and a molecular analysis was performed to determine the range of tick species harboring anaplasma marginale. the real-time pcr was used in the amplification of rickettsia dna in tick pools (n=527) from 11 identified tick species. six tick species were detected with a. m ... | 2009 | 19201099 |
| allopatric speciation in ticks: genetic and reproductive divergence between geographic strains of rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus. | the cattle tick, rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus, economically impact cattle industry in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. the morphological and genetic differences among r. microplus strains have been documented in the literature, suggesting that biogeographical and ecological separation may have resulted in boophilid ticks from america/africa and those from australia being different species. to test the hypothesis of the presence of different boophilid species, herein we perfo ... | 2009 | 19243585 |
| ixodid ticks infesting domestic goats in communal land areas of zimbabwe. | the purpose of this study was to determine the species spectrum of ticks infesting goats owned by resource-limited farmers in the state-owned communal land areas of zimbabwe. ticks were collected from goats at a single locality within each of 5 communal land areas, and a total of 14 ixodid tick species was recovered. the most numerous tick was rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, which was present in all areas at each sampling, and a rhipicephalus sp. (near r. punctatus), which was most abundant on go ... | 2008 | 19244819 |
| the extent of acaricide resistance in 1-, 2- and 3-host ticks on communally grazed cattle in the eastern region of the eastern cape province, south africa. | in order to determine the extent of acaricide resistance in the eastern region of the eastern cape province 1-, 2- and 3-host ticks were collected from cattle at 59 dip-tanks over a period of 2 years. these ticks were tested for resistance against 3 compounds, namely amitraz, cypermethrin and chlorfenvinphos. the shaw larval immersion test detected emerging resistance to amitraz in rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus at 2 dip-tanks and resistance at a 3rd. it also revealed resistance in this tic ... | 2008 | 19244821 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| an ion-channel modulator from the saliva of the brown ear tick has a highly modified kunitz/bpti structure. | ra-klp, a 75 amino acid protein secreted by the salivary gland of the brown ear tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus has a sequence resembling those of kunitz/bpti proteins. we report the detection, purification and characterization of the function of ra-klp. in addition, determination of the three-dimensional crystal structure of ra-klp at 1.6 a resolution using sulphur single-wavelength anomalous dispersion reveals that much of the loop structure of classical kunitz domains, including the protrud ... | 2009 | 19394347 |
| characterization of a reg/pa28 proteasome activator homolog in dictyostelium discoideum indicates that the ubiquitin- and atp-independent reggamma proteasome is an ancient nuclear protease. | the nuclear proteasome activator reggamma/pa28gamma is an atp- and ubiquitin-independent activator of the 20s proteasome and has been proposed to degrade and thereby regulate both a key human oncogene, encoding the coactivator src-3/aib1, and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 (waf/cip1). we report the identification and characterization of a pa28/reg homolog in dictyostelium. association of a recombinant dictyostelium reg with the purified dictyostelium 20s proteasome led to the preferen ... | 2009 | 19411624 |
| canine babesiosis: from molecular taxonomy to control. | abstract : canine babesiosis is a clinically significant emerging vector-borne disease caused by protozoan haemoparasites. this review article considers recent literature pertaining to the taxonomic classification of babesia and theileria species affecting dogs and the geographical distribution of these parasites. the diagnosis of canine babesiosis by traditional, molecular and serological methods is reviewed, together with recent advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of piroplasm ... | 2009 | 19426443 |
| functional role of 64p, the candidate transmission-blocking vaccine antigen from the tick, rhipicephalus appendiculatus. | anti-ectoparasite vaccines offer attractive alternatives to the use of chemical pesticides, especially if they also control the pathogens that ectoparasites transmit. however, selection of suitable antigens is a major constraint on vaccine development. the recombinant tick cement protein, 64trp, derived from the african brown ear tick, rhipicephalus appendiculatus, acts as a transmission-blocking vaccine in a mouse model of tick-borne encephalitis virus (tbev) transmission, protecting immunised ... | 2009 | 19481086 |
| 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 |
| quantification of theileria parva in rhipicephalus appendiculatus (acari: ixodidae) confirms differences in infection between selected tick strains. | theileria parva is the etiologic agent of east coast fever, an economically important disease of cattle in sub-saharan africa. this protozoan parasite is biologically transmitted by rhipicephalus appendiculatus (neumann) (acari: ixodidae). an understanding of the vector-parasite interaction may aid the development of improved methods for controlling transmission. we developed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qpcr) and nested pcr (npcr) assays targeting the t. parva-specific p104 gene to s ... | 2009 | 19645294 |
| cloning and characterization of rhipicephalus appendiculatus voraxinalpha and its effect as anti-tick vaccine. | male tick-derived voraxinalpha and voraxinbeta, a pair of testicular proteins, are transferred to female via copulation to stimulate female blood feeding in the tick amblyomma hebraeum (a. hebraeum). immunized animals with recombinant (r-)voraxinalpha and voraxinbeta have been shown as highly resistant to the tick infestation. in this study, we describe the cloning and characterization of voraxinalpha homologue from the tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus (r. appendiculatus), the major vector for ... | 2009 | 19665610 |