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The impact of RNA interference of the subolesin and voraxin genes in male Amblyomma hebraeum (Acari: Ixodidae) on female engorgement and oviposition

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Abstract

Reducing or replacing the use of chemical pesticides for tick control is a desirable goal. The most promising approach would be to develop vaccines that protect hosts against tick infestation. Antigens suitable for the development of anti-tick vaccines will likely be those essential for vital physiological processes, and in particular those directly involved in feeding and reproduction. In this study genes from Amblyomma hebraeum Koch that encode for subolesin and voraxin were studied in male ticks by RNA interference (RNAi). Males (unfed or fed) were injected with dsRNA of (1) subolesin, (2) voraxin, (3) subolesin plus voraxin or (4) injection buffer, after which they were held off-host overnight and then allowed to feed on rabbits together with normal female A. hebraeum. Females that fed together with male ticks injected with subolesin or subolesin + voraxin dsRNA had a higher rate of mortality, weighed substantially less and produced a smaller egg mass than the controls. However, females feeding with males injected with voraxin dsRNA alone were not significantly different from the controls with respect to mortality, engorged weight or fecundity. However, as assessed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, voraxin was not silenced in this study, the reasons for which remain unknown. The results of this study suggest that A. hebraeum subolesin is worthy of further testing as a candidate tick vaccine antigen.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by most generous grants from NSERC Canada (STPG Program) and from the Alberta Science and Research Investments Program (ASRIP) to WRK, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station (project 1669) and the Walter R. Sitlington Endowed Chair for Food Animal Research (KM Kocan, Oklahoma State University). V Naranjo was funded by Consejería de Educación, JCCM, Spain and AD Smith gratefully acknowledges the Province of Alberta for the award of a Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarhip (Master’s).

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Author notes

  1. Xiuyang Guo

    Present address: Section of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520-8031, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Z 606 Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2E9

    Alexander Smith, Xiuyang Guo & W. Reuben Kaufman

  2. Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    José de la Fuente & Katherine M. Kocan

  3. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain

    José de la Fuente & Victoria Naranjo

Authors
  1. Alexander Smith
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  2. Xiuyang Guo
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  3. José de la Fuente
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  4. Victoria Naranjo
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  6. W. Reuben Kaufman
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Correspondence to W. Reuben Kaufman.

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Smith, A., Guo, X., de la Fuente, J. et al. The impact of RNA interference of the subolesin and voraxin genes in male Amblyomma hebraeum (Acari: Ixodidae) on female engorgement and oviposition. Exp Appl Acarol 47, 71–86 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-008-9195-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-008-9195-1

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