2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Tick vaccine development by using tick testis-derived factors
| Project/Area Number |
17380177
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Applied veterinary science
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| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
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Principal Investigator |
ONUMA Misao Hokkaido University, Professor Emeritus (70109510)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
OHASHI Kazuhiko Hokkaido University, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Associate Professor (90250498)
TAJIMA Tomoko Osaka Prefecture University, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Assistant Professor (90173145)
KONNAI Satoru Hokkaido University, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Assistant Professor (40396304)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2007
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| Keywords | Amblyomma hebraeum / Tick testis-derived facor / anti-tick vaccine / Rhipicephalus appendiculatus / Voraxine |
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| Research Abstract |
From the cDNA library constructed from testis/vas deferens, we identified a novel gene of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (Rappendiculatus) tick, male-specific factor, encoding a secretory component exclusively expressed in the testis/vas deferens. This molecule, tentatively named as Rappendiculatus Mating Factor (RAMF), contains a signal peptide and has 29% amino acid identity with male-specific Is5 gene of Ixodes scapularis. Gene expression studies revealed that RAMF mRNA was up-regulated in male ticks during blood feeding. RAMF was detected not only in the testis/vas deferens but also in the postcoitum female ticks by Western blotting, suggesting that this protein could be transferred into the female tick through copulation. The attachment duration had a tendency to prolong in the virgin female ticks microinjected with recombinant RAMF, but there was no obvious effect on blood feeding. These results suggest that RAMF is a male-specific molecule in spermatophore, and other factor(s) might be required for stimulation for female engorgement in R. appendiculatus tick.
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