Standardization of primary cultures of Argasid tick embryonic cells and microbiome studies

• Grant number: 23/07786-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2024
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti
• Grantee: Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Diogo Cavalcanti Cabral de Mello ; Gustavo Seron Sanches ; Marcos Rogério André ; Rosangela Zacarias Machado ; Simone Michaela Simons

Abstract

There are several studies on the molecular detection of different pathogens in ticks, mainly within the Ixodidae family. However, the number of studies related to the molecular detection of pathogens in Argasids is considerably smaller, but no less important. Studies of molecular detection of pathogens in ticks are of fundamental importance because they give us information about which agents may be circulating in ticks of a given species, and, when detected in salivary glands, suggest that these agents may be transmitted by this tick species. However, to confirm that the species is a vector of a certain agent, experimental infection studies are necessary. Therefore, the establishment of tick cell lines represents an important alternative tool, more accessible, more ethical, and less expensive than in vivo tick feeding experiments, in addition to contributing to the reduction of the number of animals used during the experiments. Currently, there are 77 tick cell lines of different species, but only four belonging to Argasidae, none for species from the Neotropical region. In the present study, it is expected to characterize, by means of molecular techniques and karyotyping, primary cultures of embryonic cells of Brazilian ticks of the Argasidae family, namely, Ornithodoros brasiliensis Aragão, Ornithodoros fonsecai (Labruna, Venzal) and Ornithodoros rostratus (Aragão), to that it will be possible, in the future, to carry out applied experiments involving these species, as well as to establish cell cultures lineage. Based on primary cultures and argasid ticks collected from the environment, it is also intended to carry out microbiome studies. Thus, the results obtained in this project will form the basis for further studies on the molecular interaction between hosts, ticks and the pathogens transmitted by them. In addition, the results will allow obtaining the metataxonomy of both primary crops and ticks collected in the field. The metagenomic approach applied both to the cells and salivary glands of part of the specimens collected in the field will greatly contribute to filling the gaps that still exist in relation to the molecular detection of pathogens and endosymbionts in argasids in Brazil. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CASTRO-SANTIAGO, ANA CAROLINA; LIMA-DUARTE, LEIDIANE; CAMARGO, JAQUELINE VALERIA; SIMONS, SIMONE MICHAELA; BASSINI-SILVA, RICARDO; CALCHI, ANA CLAUDIA; DE OLIVEIRA, GLAUBER MENESES BARBOZA; HORTA, MAURICIO CLAUDIO; MUNOZ-LEAL, SEBASTIAN; LABRUNA, MARCELO BAHIA; et al. New records on autogenic behavior among populations of Ornithodoros fonsecai (Labruna and Venzal, 2009) (Ixodida: Argasidae) from northeastern Brazil. VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, v. 49, n. 2, p. 9-pg., 2025-04-01. (20/11755-6, 23/07786-1, 21/06758-9, 20/07826-5, 22/05615-2)