1. Differential gene expression in head and body lice
- Author
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Previte, D, Olds, BP, Yoon, K, Sun, W, Muir, W, Paige, KN, Lee, SH, Clark, J, Koehler, JE, and Pittendrigh, BR
- Subjects
Biological Sciences ,Vector-Borne Diseases ,Biotechnology ,Genetics ,Infectious Diseases ,2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment ,Aetiology ,Infection ,Good Health and Well Being ,Animals ,Bartonella quintana ,Female ,Gene Expression Regulation ,Insect Vectors ,Pediculus ,Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Species Specificity ,Transcriptome ,Trench Fever ,insect ,ectoparasite ,trench fever ,Pediculus humanus humanus ,Pediculus humanus capitis ,disease vector ,Entomology ,Biological sciences - Abstract
Human head and body lice are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites that belong to a single species, Pediculus humanus. Only body lice, however, are vectors of the infectious Gram-negative bacterium Bartonella quintana. Because of their near identical genomes, yet differential vector competence, head and body lice provide a unique model system to study the gain or loss of vector competence. Using our in vitro louse-rearing system, we infected head and body lice with blood containing B. quintana in order to detect both differences in the proliferation of B. quintana and transcriptional differences of immune-related genes in the lice. B. quintana proliferated rapidly in body lice at 6 days post-infection, but plateaued in head lice at 4 days post-infection. RNAseq and quantitative real-time PCR validation analyses determined gene expression differences. Eight immunoresponse genes were observed to be significantly different with many associated with the Toll pathway: Fibrinogen-like protein, Spaetzle, Defensin 1, Serpin, Scavenger receptor A and Apolipoporhrin 2. Our findings support the hypothesis that body lice, unlike head lice, fight infection from B. quintana only at the later stages of its proliferation.
- Published
- 2014