镰形扇头蜱丝氨酸蛋白酶SP30基因的克隆及原核表达

根据丝氨酸蛋白酶保守性氨基酸序列设计引物,以镰形扇头蜱半饱血雌蜱cDNA为模板,经PCR扩增得到SP30基因的保守区,通过5’RACE(rapid amplification of cDNA Ends)和3’RACE技术得到全长基因。将该基因连入原核表达载体pGEX-4T-1,经IPTG诱导纯化得到重组蛋白。以镰形扇头蜱卵、幼蜱、若蜱、成蜱各发育阶段的cDNA为模板进行Real-timePCR实验。结果显示,SP30基因全长1194 bp,开放阅读框长900 bp,编码299个氨基酸,预计蛋白分子质量30 kDa。Real-time PCR分析结果表明,该基因在四个不同的发育阶段均有不同程度的表达。     

蜱功能基因研究进展

蜱是动物体表的一类常见吸血寄生虫,能充当多种重要疾病的媒介,因此必要采取安全的免疫手段控制蜱害,从分子水平上研究蜱可能成为这种构想的最好突破口。在蜱持续吸血、存储病原等系列独特的生理活动中,相关的功能基因调节发挥着重要作用,了解这些基因的分布、种类和功能,对蜱疫苗的研制和生物制剂的开发将具有重要意义。     

Toxicological and biochemical characterization of coumaphos resistance in the San Roman strain of Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae)

The San Roman strain of the southern cattle tick, Boophilus microplus, collected from Mexico was previously reported to have a high level of resistance to the organophosphate acaricide coumaphos. An oxidative detoxification mechanism was suspected to contribute to coumaphos resistance in this tick strain, as coumaphos bioassay with piperonyl butoxide (PBO) on larvae of this resistant strain resulted in enhanced coumaphos toxicity, while coumaphos assays with PBO resulted in reduced toxicity of coumaphos in a susceptible reference strain. In this study, we further analyzed the mechanism of oxidative metabolic detoxification with synergist bioassays of coroxon, the toxic metabolite of coumaphos, and the mechanism of target-site insensitivity with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition kinetics assays. Bioassays of coroxon with PBO resulted in synergism of coroxon toxicity in both the San Roman and the susceptible reference strains. The synergism ratio of PBO on coroxon in the resistant strain was 4.5 times that of the susceptible strain. The results suggested that the cytP450-based metabolic detoxification existed in both resistant and susceptible strains, but its activity was significantly enhanced in the resistant strain. Comparisons of AChE activity and inhibition kinetics by coroxon in both susceptible and resistant strains revealed that the resistant San Roman strain had an insensitive AChE, with a reduced phosphorylation rate, resulting in a reduced bimolecular reaction constant. These data indicate a mechanism of coumaphos resistance in the San Roman strain that involves both insensitive AChE and enhanced cytP450-based metabolic detoxification.     

Using environmental factors to predict Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Acari: Ixodidae) mortality

Background

Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (Latreille, 1806) can establish indoor populations, which increases the risk of pathogen transmission to humans and companion dogs. Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. ticks spend most of their life cycle off the host, which subjects developmental timescale to abiotic factors. Previous studies showed that both temperature and relative humidity (RH) influenced Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. survival time across all life stages. However, quantified relationships between environmental factors and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. mortality is not currently available. Here, three Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. strains were evaluated for mortality under 20 combinations of five temperatures and four RHs. The data obtained were analyzed to quantify the relationship between environmental factors and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. survival.

Results

Mortality probabilities did not show a consistent pattern between the three tick strains. Temperature, RH, and their interaction influenced Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. mortality probabilities across all life stages, with mortality probability generally increasing with temperature but decreasing with RH. With 50% and lower RH, larvae cannot survive for more than 1 week. However, mortality probabilities in all strains and stages were more sensitive to temperature than to RH.

Conclusion

This study identified the predictive relationship between environmental factors and Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. survival, which enables estimations of tick survival time under varied residential situations, allows parameterization of population models, and provides guidance for pest control professionals to develop efficient management strategies. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.     

Dose determination of a novel formulation of metaflumizone plus amitraz for control of cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis felis) and brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) on dogs

A novel spot-on formulation containing metaflumizone and amitraz (ProMeris/ProMeris Duo for Dogs, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Overland Park, KS) was evaluated in a laboratory study to determine the appropriate dose for efficacy against fleas and ticks on dogs for 1 month. Thirty-six Beagles were randomly allocated to six equal groups and individually housed. One group remained nontreated. Another was treated with a placebo formulation (solvents with no active ingredients). Three groups of dogs were treated topically with the metaflumizone plus amitraz formulation (150mg of each of metaflumizone and amitraz/ml), at volumes providing doses of 10, 20 and 40mgeachactive/kg. The final group was treated with a commercial spot-on providing 6.7mgfipronil/kg. All treatments were applied to the skin at a single spot between the scapulae on Day 0. Dogs were infested with 50 adult brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) on each of Days -2, 5, 12, 19, 26, 33 and 40, and with 100 cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis felis) on Days -1, 6, 13, 20, 27, 34 and 41. Dogs were examined and parasites "finger counted" on Day 1 to estimate knock down efficacy, and all animals were comb counted to determine the numbers of viable fleas and ticks on Days 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42. There were no significant differences in parasite counts between the nontreated control and the placebo-treated control groups for either fleas or ticks (P>0.05) except for very slight reductions on Day 7 for fleas and Day 14 for ticks, demonstrating that the formulation excipients had no activity. The qualitative finger counts on Day 1 indicated that all of the insecticidal treatments resulted in a noticeable reduction in flea and tick numbers within 1 day of treatment. All of the metaflumizone and amitraz treatments and fipronil resulted in significantly lower flea and tick numbers relative to nontreated controls on all posttreatment count days (P<0.05). For the metaflumizone plus amitraz treatments, mean flea and tick counts for the 10mg/kg dose were significantly higher than those for the 20mg/kg dose (P<0.05) from Day 21 on. There was no significant advantage provided by the 40mg/kg dose over the 20mg dose throughout the entire study (P>0.05). The two higher metaflumizone plus amitraz doses provided >95% control of fleas and >90% control of ticks for at least 35 days after treatment, and this level of control was similar to that of the commercial fipronil product. The 20mg/kg dose was selected as the minimum commercial dose rate to provide effective flea and tick control for at least 1 month following a single treatment.     

巴贝斯虫病在南京宠物犬中流行情况的调查

通过对南京市部分宠物门诊2002年8月-2005年8月3年病例的不完全统计、分析,犬巴贝斯虫病在南京市区一年四季均可发生。其中,秋季最多,春季次之,冬季偶尔可见;5月和10月高发,形成全年的双峰曲线。传播媒介主要为血红扇头蜱。犬巴贝斯虫病的发生与环境气候因素、人类活动有密切关系。     

新疆边境地区蜱携带梨形虫种类的分子鉴定

为了调查新疆边境地区梨形虫在当地蜱中的携带情况,对采集于2019年4月份和5月份的新疆边境地区共25个县(市)的蜱进行形态学鉴定,提取DNA,利用梨形虫套式引物进行扩增并测序,并采用IQ-Tree软件的ML法构建不同地理株的进化关系.结果显示,采集到的1 516只蜱包括4个属9个种,分别为森林革蜱(Dermacento...     

侯鸟携带蜱及蜱传播疾病流行概况

蜱作为一种重要的媒介生物,可以携带并传播多种病原体,引发人兽共患蜱传病,具有重要的公共卫生意义。侯鸟因其独特的飞行运动特性、集群性及广阔的活动范围,为蜱及蜱传病的散播提供有利条件。其传播作用既有生物性传播又有机械性传播,感染性媒介蜱可趁候鸟迁飞途中落地休息及食物补给之时重新寻找宿主并完成跨距离传播,促进新的自然疫源地产生。我国位于国际候鸟迁飞主要迁徙带上,然而有关鸟类携带蜱及蜱传病原相关研究数据却非常缺乏。论文根据国内外研究状况,就侯鸟携带蜱及蜱传病原的种类、分布、流行情况进行综述,以期更好地了解鸟类、蜱以及病原三者之间的相互关系,从而为蜱传病的监测、预警和防控提供参考。     

荧光定量PCR检测硬蜱体内莱姆病螺旋体的研究

为建立一个荧光定量PCR检测硬蜱体内莱姆病螺旋体的方法,根据GenBank登录的莱姆病螺旋体鞭毛蛋白FlaB序列,应用生物学软件进行序列比对,在保守的C段区设计与筛选特异引物和TaqMan探针。对荧光定量PCR反应体系与条件进行优化,验证方法的特异性、敏感性,并通过对感染螺旋体的蜱样本的检测,评价该方法的实用价值。结果显示,自然感染莱姆病螺旋体的35份蜱标本检测阳性符合率100%,正常蜱20份标本的检测结果均为阴性。该方法对牛巴贝斯原虫、泰勒原虫、边缘无浆体、金龟子绿僵菌、大肠杆菌等蜱体常见病原微生物所抽提的DNA的检测均呈阴性。荧光定量PCR方法检测质粒的灵敏度可达1×102拷贝/μL。TaqMan荧光定量PCR方法检测硬蜱体内莱姆病螺旋体具有较好的敏感性和特异性,可适于莱姆病的流行病学调查和监控。