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Dermacentor andersoni , known as the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is found in the western United States and transmits pathogens that cause diseases of veterinary and public health importance including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, Colorado tick fever and bovine anaplasmosis. Tick saliva is known to modulate both innate and acquired immune responses, enabling ticks to feed for several days without detection. During feeding ticks subvert host defences such as hemostasis and inflammation, which would otherwise result in coagulation, wound repair and rejection of the tick. Molecular characterization of the proteins and pharmacological molecules secreted in tick saliva offers an opportunity to develop tick vaccines as an alternative to the use of acaricides, as well as new anti-inflammatory drugs. We performed proteomics informed by transcriptomics to identify D. andersoni saliva proteins that are secreted during feeding. The transcript data generated a database of 21,797 consensus sequences, which we used to identify 677 proteins secreted in the saliva of D. andersoni ticks fed for 2 and 5 days, following proteomic investigations of whole saliva using mass spectrometry. Salivary gland transcript levels of unfed ticks were compared with 2 and 5 day fed ticks to identify genes upregulated early during tick feeding. We cross-referenced the proteomic data with the transcriptomic data to identify 157 proteins of interest for immunomodulation and blood feeding. Proteins of unknown function as well as known immunomodulators were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pathogens dependent upon vectors for transmission to new hosts undergo environment specific changes in gene transcription dependent on whether they are replicating in the vector or the mammalian host. Differential gene transcription, especially of potential vaccine candidates, is of interest in Anaplasma marginale, the tick-borne causative agent of bovine anaplasmosis. Methods: RNA-seq technology allowed a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptional status of A. marginale genes in two conditions: bovine host blood and tick derived cell culture, a model for the tick vector. Quantitative PCR was used to assess transcription of a set of genes in A. marginale infected tick midguts and salivary glands at two time points during the transmission cycle. Results: Genes belonging to fourteen pathways or component groups were found to be differentially transcribed in A. marginale in the bovine host versus the tick vector. One of the most significantly altered groups was composed of surface proteins. Of the 56 genes included in the surface protein group, eight were up regulated and 26 were down regulated. The down regulated surface protein encoding genes include several that are well studied due to their immunogenicity and function. Quantitative PCR of a set of genes demonstrated that transcription in tick cell culture most closely approximates transcription in salivary glands of recently infected ticks. Conclusions: The ISE6 tick cell culture line is an acceptable model for early infection in tick salivary glands, and reveals disproportionate down regulation of surface protein genes in the tick. Transcriptional profiling in other cell lines may help us simulate additional microenvironments. Understanding vector-specific alteration of gene transcription, especially of surface protein encoding genes, may aid in the development of vaccines or transmission blocking therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ability to genetically manipulate bacteria has been fundamentally important for both basic biological discovery and translational research to develop new vaccines and antibiotics. Experimental alteration of the genetic content of prokaryotic pathogens has revealed both expected functional relationships and unexpected phenotypic consequences. Slow growth phenotypes have been reported for multiple transformed bacterial species, including extracellular and intracellular pathogens. Understanding the genes and pathways responsible for the slow growth phenotype provides the opportunity to develop attenuated vaccines as well as bacteriostatic antibiotics. Transformed Anaplasma marginale, a rickettsial pathogen, exhibits slow growth in vitro and in vivo as compared to the parent wild type strain, providing the opportunity to identify the underlying genes and pathways associated with this phenotype. Results: Whole genome transcriptional profiling allowed for identification of specific genes and pathways altered in transformed A. marginale. Genes found immediately upstream and downstream of the insertion site, including a four gene operon encoding key outer membrane proteins, were not differentially transcribed between wild type and transformed A. marginale. This lack of significant difference in transcription of flanking genes and the large size of the insert relative to the genome were consistent with a trans rather than a cis effect. Transcriptional profiling across the complete genome identified the most differentially transcribed genes, including an iron transporter, an RNA cleaving enzyme and several genes involved in translation. In order to confirm the trend seen in translationrelated genes, K-means clustering and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were applied. These algorithms allowed evaluation of the behavior of genes as groups that share transcriptional status or biological function. Clustering and GSEA confirmed the initial observations and found additional pathways altered in transformed A. marginale. Three pathways were significantly altered as compared to the wild type: translation, translation elongation, and purine biosynthesis. Conclusions: Identification of perturbed genes and networks through genome wide transcriptional profiling highlights the relevance of pathways such as nucleotide biosynthesis, translation, and translation elongation in the growth phenotype of obligate intracellular bacteria. These genes and pathways provide specific targets for development of slow growing attenuated vaccines and for bacteriostatic antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intracellular bacterium was isolated from fruit bats (Artibeus intermedius) in Cocoyoc, Mexico. The bacterium caused severe lesions in the lungs and spleens of bats and intracytoplasmic vacuoles in cell cultures. Sequence analyses showed it is related to Waddlia spp. (order Chlamydiales). We propose to call this bacterium Waddlia cocoyoc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]