Life Sciences Commons^™

Rickettsial Pathogen Perturbs Tick Circadian Gene To Infect The Vertebrate Host, Supreet Khanal, Vikas Taank, John F. Anderson, Hameeda Sultana, Girish Neelakanta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ixodes scapularis is a medically important tick that transmits several microbes to humans, including rickettsial pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In nature, these ticks encounter several abiotic factors including changes in temperature, humidity, and light. Many organisms use endogenously generated circadian pathways to encounter abiotic factors. In this study, we provide evidence for the first time to show that A. phagocytophilum modulates the arthropod circadian gene for its transmission to the vertebrate host. We noted a circadian oscillation in the expression of arthropod clock, bmal1, period and timeless genes when ticks or tick cells were exposed to alternate 12 h …

Tick Transmission Of Borrelia Burgdorferi To The Murine Host Is Not Influenced By Environmentally Acquired Midgut Microbiota, Sukanya Narasimhan, Nallakkandi Rajeevan, Morven Graham, Ming-Jie Wu, Kathleen Deponte, Solenne Marion, Orlanne Masson, Anya J. O'Neal, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Erol Fikrig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Ixodes scapularis is the predominant tick vector of Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, in the USA. Molecular interactions between the tick and B. burgdorferi orchestrate the migration of spirochetes from the midgut to the salivary glands—critical steps that precede transmission to the vertebrate host. Over the last decade, research efforts have invoked a potential role for the tick microbiome in modulating tick-pathogen interactions.

Results

Using multiple strategies to perturb the microbiome composition of B. burgdorferi-infected nymphal ticks, we observe that changes in the microbiome composition do not significantly influence B. burgdorferi migration from the midgut, invasion of …