Identification and characterization of Rhipicephalus microplus (RBME-6) and Amblyomma sculptum (ASE-14) tick cell transcripts in response to Anaplasma marginale infection

• Grant number: 23/11270-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: November 06, 2023
• End date: April 15, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti
• Grantee: Ana Carolina Castro Santiago
• Supervisor: Lucas Tirloni
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/06758-9 - Characterization of tick cell lines and their use as a substrate for the growth, maintenance and protein expression profile of Anaplasma marginale, BP.DR

Abstract

The tick cell lines represent a useful tool when it comes to genetic manipulation of pathogens, as well as for gene expression studies. Through transcriptomic analysis, it is possible to identify expressed transcripts involved in the tick-pathogen interaction, and to obtain a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with this interaction. However, little is known about the associated factors when it comes to cell culture. Considering these aspects, we intend to investigate the transcripts expressed in embryonic cells of the tick Rhipicephalus microplus (RBME-6) and Amblyomma sculptum (ASE-14) in response to infection by the obligate intracellular bacterium, Anaplasma marginale. The results from this study will corroborate and will be complementary to the proteomic studies analyzed from the samples under the same conditions studied during the PhD of the candidate. (AU)