Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Commons^™

Genomic Insights Into The Ixodes Scapularis Tick Vector Of Lyme Disease, Monika Gulia-Nuss,, Daniel R. Caffrey, Neal S. Silverman, Adam R. Wespiser, Catherine A. Hill

Neal Silverman

Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of the tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors pathogens that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis and other diseases. The large genome reflects accumulation of repetitive DNA, new lineages of retro-transposons, and gene architecture patterns resembling ancient metazoans rather than pancrustaceans. Annotation of scaffolds representing approximately 57% of the genome, reveals 20,486 protein-coding genes and expansions of gene families associated with tick-host interactions. We report insights from genome analyses into parasitic processes unique to ticks, including host 'questing', prolonged feeding, …