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Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group
Published on: August 16, 2017
New defensins from hard and soft ticks: similarities, differences, and phylogenetic analyses
Tereza Chrudimská1, Tomás Chrudimský, Marina Golovchenko
1University of South Bohemia, Branisovská 31, Ceské Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic. terezam@paru.cas.cz
Abstract:
Despite the importance of ticks as vectors of disease very little is known about their immune system. Antimicrobial peptides, including defensins (phylogenetically ancient antibacterial peptides) are major components of innate immunity in ticks that have been shown to provide protection against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoan parasites. With the aim of studying the evolution of the genes involved in tick defense, we identified the preprodefensin genes from four Ornithodoros tick species (O. papillipes: isoforms A, B, and D; O. tartakovskyi and O. puertoricensis: isoforms A and B; O. rostratus: isoform A) and from two Dermacentor tick species (D. reticulatus and D. marginatus: one isoform) not previously described. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that Ornithodoros defensin isoforms (A, B, C, and D) form 4 separate clades, while hard tick defensins are divided into several branches based on particular tick species.
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