TY - JOUR
T1 - The relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia turicatae persists in the highly oxidative environment of its soft-bodied tick vector
AU - Bourret, Travis J.
AU - Boyle, William K.
AU - Zalud, Amanda K.
AU - Valenzuela, Jesus G.
AU - Oliveira, Fabiano
AU - Lopez, Job E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by start‐up funds from Creighton University, the National Institute for General Medical Science (NIGMS; 5P20GM103427), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), T. B.; Baylor College of Medicine Junior Faculty Seed Award, and the NIH (AI137412 and AI123651), J. L.; and the Intramural Research Program of the Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, J.V. & F.O. We would also like to thank Dr. Frank Gherardini for providing the BosR and NapA antibodies.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by start-up funds from Creighton University, the National Institute for General Medical Science (NIGMS; 5P20GM103427), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), T. B.; Baylor College of Medicine Junior Faculty Seed Award, and the NIH (AI137412 and AI123651), J. L.; and the Intramural Research Program of the Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, J.V. & F.O. We would also like to thank Dr. Frank Gherardini for providing the BosR and NapA antibodies.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Authors Cellular Microbiology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - The relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia turicatae possesses a complex life cycle in its soft-bodied tick vector, Ornithodoros turicata. Spirochetes enter the tick midgut during a blood meal, and, during the following weeks, spirochetes disseminate throughout O. turicata. A population persists in the salivary glands allowing for rapid transmission to the mammalian hosts during tick feeding. Little is known about the physiological environment within the salivary glands acini in which B. turicatae persists. In this study, we examined the salivary gland transcriptome of O. turicata ticks and detected the expression of 57 genes involved in oxidant metabolism or antioxidant defences. We confirmed the expression of five of the most highly expressed genes, including glutathione peroxidase (gpx), thioredoxin peroxidase (tpx), manganese superoxide dismutase (sod-1), copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (sod-2), and catalase (cat) by reverse-transcriptase droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-ddPCR). We also found distinct differences in the expression of these genes when comparing the salivary glands and midguts of unfed O. turicata ticks. Our results indicate that the salivary glands of unfed O. turicata nymphs are highly oxidative environments where reactive oxygen species (ROS) predominate, whereas midgut tissues comprise a primarily nitrosative environment where nitric oxide synthase is highly expressed. Additionally, B. turicatae was found to be hyperresistant to ROS compared with the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, suggesting it is uniquely adapted to the highly oxidative environment of O. turicata salivary gland acini.
AB - The relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia turicatae possesses a complex life cycle in its soft-bodied tick vector, Ornithodoros turicata. Spirochetes enter the tick midgut during a blood meal, and, during the following weeks, spirochetes disseminate throughout O. turicata. A population persists in the salivary glands allowing for rapid transmission to the mammalian hosts during tick feeding. Little is known about the physiological environment within the salivary glands acini in which B. turicatae persists. In this study, we examined the salivary gland transcriptome of O. turicata ticks and detected the expression of 57 genes involved in oxidant metabolism or antioxidant defences. We confirmed the expression of five of the most highly expressed genes, including glutathione peroxidase (gpx), thioredoxin peroxidase (tpx), manganese superoxide dismutase (sod-1), copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (sod-2), and catalase (cat) by reverse-transcriptase droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-ddPCR). We also found distinct differences in the expression of these genes when comparing the salivary glands and midguts of unfed O. turicata ticks. Our results indicate that the salivary glands of unfed O. turicata nymphs are highly oxidative environments where reactive oxygen species (ROS) predominate, whereas midgut tissues comprise a primarily nitrosative environment where nitric oxide synthase is highly expressed. Additionally, B. turicatae was found to be hyperresistant to ROS compared with the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, suggesting it is uniquely adapted to the highly oxidative environment of O. turicata salivary gland acini.
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U2 - 10.1111/cmi.12987
DO - 10.1111/cmi.12987
M3 - Article
C2 - 30489694
AN - SCOPUS:85059568187
VL - 21
JO - Cellular Microbiology
JF - Cellular Microbiology
SN - 1462-5814
IS - 2
M1 - e12987
ER -