TY - JOUR
T1 - Rhipicephalus appendiculatus
T2 - Characterization of a testis-associated protein
AU - Yamada, Shinji
AU - Ito, Yuko
AU - Imamura, Saiki
AU - Konnai, Satoru
AU - Ito, Takuya
AU - Onuma, Misao
AU - Ohashi, Kazuhiko
N1 - Funding Information:
We are indebted to Dr. Claro N. Mingala for the help in preparing the manuscript. This work was supported by grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS: no.1738017707).
PY - 2008/12
Y1 - 2008/12
N2 - A novel gene coding for Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Male-specific Protein (RAMP) was identified in a cDNA library constructed from the testis/vas deferens of R. appendiculatus ticks. This gene encodes a secreted protein exclusively expressed in the testis/vas deferens. The putative RAMP amino acid sequence contains a signal peptide and has 29% amino acid identity with male-specific Is5 gene of Ixodes scapularis. Gene expression studies revealed that RAMP mRNA was up-regulated in male ticks during blood feeding. RAMP was detected not only in the testis/vas deferens of males but also in postcoitum female ticks based on Western blotting, indicating that this protein is transferred to the female tick during copulation. Virgin female ticks, microinjected with recombinant RAMP, had significantly prolonged attachment duration during feeding, but there was no effect on fed weight. These results suggest that RAMP is a male-specific molecule in the spermatophore, and is related to female attachment behavior in R. appendiculatus ticks.
AB - A novel gene coding for Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Male-specific Protein (RAMP) was identified in a cDNA library constructed from the testis/vas deferens of R. appendiculatus ticks. This gene encodes a secreted protein exclusively expressed in the testis/vas deferens. The putative RAMP amino acid sequence contains a signal peptide and has 29% amino acid identity with male-specific Is5 gene of Ixodes scapularis. Gene expression studies revealed that RAMP mRNA was up-regulated in male ticks during blood feeding. RAMP was detected not only in the testis/vas deferens of males but also in postcoitum female ticks based on Western blotting, indicating that this protein is transferred to the female tick during copulation. Virgin female ticks, microinjected with recombinant RAMP, had significantly prolonged attachment duration during feeding, but there was no effect on fed weight. These results suggest that RAMP is a male-specific molecule in the spermatophore, and is related to female attachment behavior in R. appendiculatus ticks.
KW - Rhipicephalus appendiculatus
KW - Testis/vas deferens
KW - Tick mating
KW - cDNA library
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U2 - 10.1016/j.exppara.2008.08.010
DO - 10.1016/j.exppara.2008.08.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 18796305
AN - SCOPUS:55049096974
VL - 120
SP - 337
EP - 342
JO - Experimental Parasitology
JF - Experimental Parasitology
SN - 0014-4894
IS - 4
ER -
