Abstract
Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is an obligate haematophagous arthropod and the major problem for cattle industry due to economic losses it causes. The parasite shows a remarkable adaptability to changing environmental conditions as well as an exceptional ability to survive long-term starvation. This ability has been related to a process of intracellular protein degradation called autophagy. This process in ticks is still poorly understood and only few autophagy-related (ATG) genes have been characterized. The aim of the present study was to examine the ESTs database, BmiGI, of R. microplus searching for ATG homologues. We predicted five putative ATG genes, ATG3, ATG4, ATG6 and two ATG8s. Further characterization led to the identification of RmATG8a and RmATG8b, homologues of GABARAP and MAP1LC3, respectively, and both of them belonging to the ATG8 family. PCR analyses showed that the expression level of RmATG8a and RmATG8b was higher in egg and larval stages when compared to ovary and midgut from adult ticks. This up-regulation coincides with the period in which ticks are in a starvation state, suggesting that autophagy is active in R. microplus.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Grant SEP-CONACYT-CB-2008-01-104006 from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología México to M.M.V. J.M.F.F. received a scholarship from CONACYT. We thank Tina Coop of Peace Corps México for the critical review of the language of the manuscript. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. All experiments comply with the current laws of Mexico.
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Flores Fernández, J.M., Gutiérrez Ortega, A., Rosario Cruz, R. et al. Molecular cloning and characterization of two novel autophagy-related genes belonging to the ATG8 family from the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae). Exp Appl Acarol 64, 533–542 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-014-9838-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-014-9838-3