Article
Parasitology
Caitlin A. O'Brien, Bixing Huang, David Warrilow, Jessamine E. Hazlewood, Helle Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Sonja Hall-Mendelin, Cassandra L. Pegg, Jessica J. Harrison, Devina Paramitha, Natalee D. Newton, Benjamin L. Schulz, Andreas Suhrbier, Jody Hobson-Peters, Roy A. Hall
Summary: A subset of Australians bitten by ticks experience chronic and debilitating symptoms that cannot be explained by known pathogenic bacteria. In an effort to understand these symptoms, researchers in Australia are identifying and characterising viruses in ticks. This study successfully characterises five tick-borne viruses and provides insights into their replication and antigenic profiles.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Karen D. D. McCoy, Celine Toty, Marlene Dupraz, Jeremy Tornos, Amandine Gamble, Romain Garnier, Sebastien Descamps, Thierry Boulinier
Summary: Climate change has significant impacts on species in polar regions. The expansion of the seabird tick, Ixodes uriae, in the high Arctic has been linked to climate change. However, recent population genetic data and host serology suggest that the tick has been present in Svalbard for a long time, maintaining high population sizes and a transmission cycle of Lyme disease bacteria.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Jani J. Sormunen, Tero Klemola, Eero J. Vesterinen
Summary: Birds can transport various species of ticks and tick-borne pathogens during their migrations. In Finland, a study initiated in 2018 aimed to update knowledge on ticks parasitizing birds by collecting ticks from both migrating and local birds. The most commonly collected tick species was Ixodes ricinus, with few exotic species found.
EXPERIMENTAL AND APPLIED ACAROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Nina Militzer, Alexander Bartel, Peter-Henning Clausen, Peggy Hoffmann-Kohler, Ard M. Nijhof
Summary: The life cycle of the hard tick Ixodes ricinus was completed for the first time in vitro, with longer feeding times, lower engorgement weights, and a significant improvement in feeding efficiency with the supplementation of vitamin B.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Zbigniew Zajac, Katarzyna Bartosik, Joanna Kulisz, Aneta Wozniak
Summary: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is increasing in many European countries.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Dermatology
Kenta Sasaki, Masaru Honma, Minoru Nakao, Mizuki Sasaki, Yoshio Hashimoto, Akemi Ishida-Yamamoto, Kentaro Yoshii
Summary: This study in Hokkaido collected and tested ticks feeding on humans for TBEV, but no positive results were found in the specimens. However, monitoring for the occurrence of TBE remains important, as there is an increase in human tick bites by the potential TBEV vector, I. ovatus, even in the northern and eastern areas of Hokkaido.
JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Michelle J. Klouwens, Jos J. A. Trentelman, Diego Barriales, Jasmin I. Ersoz, Mikel Azkargorta, Felix Elortza, Radek Sima, Ondrej Hajdusek, Julen Tomas Cortazar, Iraide Escobes Corcuera, Emil Colstrup, Abhijeet Nayak, Itziar Martin Ruiz, Hector Rodriguez, Ard M. Nijhof, Juan Anguita, Joppe W. R. Hovius
Summary: In this study, differential protein production in the salivary glands of Ixodes ricinus ticks in response to Borrelia afzelii infection and different feeding conditions was identified using quantitative proteomics. Recombinant tick proteins selected from this study significantly reduced the post-engorgement weights of I. ricinus nymphs in experimental animal models, but efficient transmission of B. afzelii to the murine host was still observed.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adela S. Oliva Chavez, Xiaowei Wang, Liron Marnin, Nathan K. Archer, Holly L. Hammond, Erin E. McClure Carroll, Dana K. Shaw, Brenden G. Tully, Amanda D. Buskirk, Shelby L. Ford, L. Rainer Butler, Preeti Shahi, Kateryna Morozova, Cristina C. Clement, Lauren Lawres, Anya J. O' Neal, Choukri Ben Mamoun, Kathleen L. Mason, Brandi E. Hobbs, Glen A. Scoles, Eileen M. Barry, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Utpal Pal, Jesus G. Valenzuela, Marcelo B. Sztein, Marcela F. Pasetti, Michael L. Levin, Michail Kotsyfakis, Steven M. Jay, Jason F. Huntley, Lloyd S. Miller, Laura Santambrogio, Joao H. F. Pedra
Summary: Extracellular vesicles play a role in the transmission of pathogens from arthropods to hosts, with different types of tick-derived vesicles promoting or mitigating bacterial infection outcomes by influencing skin immunity.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Kylie D. Green, Hannah S. Tiffin, Jessica E. Brown, Edwin R. Burgess, Erika T. Machtinger
Summary: Tick control tubes are a host-targeted tick control method, but their effectiveness varies and may be influenced by rodent visitation. This study evaluated small mammal use of tick control tube cotton and found that the season was a key factor in mouse use of cotton.
Article
Microbiology
Sukanya Narasimhan, Carmen J. J. Booth, Mario T. T. Philipp, Erol Fikrig, Monica E. E. Embers
Summary: The blacklegged tick is the main carrier of Lyme disease in the USA. Natural hosts do not acquire tick resistance, but non-natural hosts like guinea pigs can develop resistance against tick feeding and transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi. This study highlights the importance of identifying tick salivary targets for vaccine development.
Article
Microbiology
Kamalika Samanta, Jose F. Azevedo, Nisha Nair, Suman Kundu, Maria Gomes-Solecki
Summary: In recent years, Lyme disease has spread to previously nonendemic areas. Through laboratory observations, we found that infected I. scapularis nymphal ticks can retain their host-seeking behavior and maintain a sufficient infection rate under optimal environmental conditions, effectively transmitting the Lyme disease pathogen. This study is important for understanding and modeling the expansion of Lyme disease into nonendemic regions due to climate change.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Biology
Anne L. Sapiro, Beth M. Hayes, Regan F. Volk, Jenny Y. Zhang, Diane M. Brooks, Calla Martyn, Atanas Radkov, Ziyi Zhao, Margie Kinnersley, Patrick R. Secor, Balyn W. Zaro, Seemay Chou
Summary: This study longitudinally defined the global transcriptomic landscape of Bb inside nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks during a transmitting bloodmeal. It identified 192 Bb genes that substantially change expression during the bloodmeal, many of which encode proteins located in the cell envelope or proteins of unknown function. Mass spectrometry was used to identify candidate tick proteins that physically interact with Bb.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jonas Durand, Laure Bournez, Julien Marchand, Claire Schmid, Irene Carravieri, Beatrice Palin, Cyril Galley, Vincent Godard, Annick Brun-Jacob, Jean-Francois Cosson, Pascale Frey-Klett
Summary: This study utilized a citizen science approach to quantify tick bites and undetected tick bites among orienteers during a 6-day competition in Eastern France. The results showed that orienteers are at high risk for tick bites, with only a small percentage using repellent which only partially reduced the probability of being bitten by ticks.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Sazzad Mahmood, Radek Sima, Veronika Urbanova, Jos J. A. Trentelman, Nicolas Krezdorn, Peter Winter, Petr Kopacek, Joppe W. Hovius, Ondrej Hajdusek
Summary: This study focused on the interaction between Borrelia and ticks at the molecular level, identifying differentially expressed genes in the tick midgut regulated by B. afzelii. The findings confirmed intensive interaction between B. afzelii and I. ricinus ticks, with some tick genes affecting infection progress and prevalence in mice tissues. Targeting genes and proteins exploited by Borrelia during transmission in ticks could lead to novel preventive strategies for Lyme borreliosis.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Galina N. Leonova, Larisa M. Somova, Svetlana A. Abramova, Evgeniy V. Pustovalov
Summary: This study investigated the phenomenon of pathogen co-infection in a half-fed Ixodes persulcatus tick from a human in the south of the Far East. The tick was found to contain the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and an unknown pathogen (Kiparis-144 virus). Additionally, an ectromelia virus was present in the tick. Passage on mice resulted in a significant increase in the virulence of the co-isolate.
Article
Entomology
Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, James E. Carpenter, Stephen D. Hight, Daniel A. Hahn
FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGIST
(2016)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
E. Levin, G. Lopez-Martinez, B. Fane, G. Davidowitz
Article
Biology
Bertanne Visser, Caroline M. Williams, Daniel A. Hahn, Clancy A. Short, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Entomology
Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, James E. Carpenter, Stephen D. Hight, Daniel A. Hahn
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2014)
Article
Biology
Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, Daniel A. Hahn
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2012)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, Daniel A. Hahn
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marcio A. Geihs, Daniel C. Moreira, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, Marina Minari, Marlize Ferreira-Cravo, Juan Manuel Carvajalino-Fernandez, Marcelo Hermes-Lima
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Raymond Berry, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez
COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, James E. Carpenter, Stephen D. Hight, Daniel A. Hahn
Summary: The study showed that inducing beneficial plasticity with anoxia conditioning prior to irradiation can improve male field performance and longevity, leading to lower post-irradiation damage, increased flight performance, and longer recapture duration in the field. This suggests that considering beneficial plasticity responses, such as anoxia conditioning treatments, in integrated pest management programs using SIT can enhance the feasibility and effectiveness of such programs.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lidia Cervantes, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez
Summary: Insect pollination is crucial for ecosystems and biodiversity, but environmental stressors like climate change have led to a decline in insect pollinators. Using an anoxia hormetic framework on overwintering solitary bees, specifically the alfalfa leafcutting bee, can improve springtime performance with minimal impact on energy reserves.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Editorial Material
Physiology
Daniel C. Moreira, Youji Wang, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, Marcelo Hermes-Lima
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alyssa M. De la Torre, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez
Summary: Hormesis refers to the biphasic dose relationship, with stimulatory responses at low doses and inhibitory responses at high doses. This study investigated the effects of an extreme form of low oxygen hormesis, anoxia, on Tenebrio molitor beetles. The results showed that anoxia exposure for 1 to 3 hours had beneficial effects on emergence, lifelong activity, and lifespan, while the 6-hour group had compromised performance. However, these performance boosts at 3 hours came with significant costs, including delayed development and decreased fitness, both in the treated individuals and their F1 generation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Dominique M. Sommer, Jennifer M. Young, Xin Sun, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, Christopher J. Byrd
Summary: The study investigated the use of infrared thermography, automated electronic sow feeding systems, and heart rate monitors as potential technologies for detecting the social hierarchy within sow groups. Feeding behavior collected by an automated feeding system may be a promising tool for future social hierarchy detection. Measures related to changes in heart rate over time are capable of identifying high- and low-ranked sows when the measures are collected before sows are moved into groups. Therefore, technologies capable of measuring feeding behavior and changes in heart rate over time may be promising for future automated detection of the sow social hierarchy.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Toxicology
Jacob B. Campbell, Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez
Summary: This review summarizes the recent advancements in low-oxygen hormesis, focusing on severe hypoxia and anoxia. These two forms of low-oxygen treatments have been found to yield the largest protective responses in insects. The effectiveness of low-oxygen hormesis is influenced by factors such as oxygen content, treatment duration and timing, treatment method, sex, and genetic background. The known mechanism of this type of hormesis is briefly presented.
CURRENT OPINION IN TOXICOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez, Robert L. Meagher, Laura A. Jeffers, Woodward D. Bailey, Daniel A. Hahn
FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGIST
(2016)
