Validation of an automated mite counter for Dermanyssus gallinae in experimental laying hen cages.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Mul MF
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4481303 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Validation of an automated mite counter for Dermanyssus gallinae in experimental laying hen cages.
Mul Monique F MF van Riel Johan W JW Meerburg Bastiaan G BG Dicke Marcel M George David R DR Groot Koerkamp Peter W G PW
Experimental & applied acarology 20150523 4
For integrated pest management (IPM) programs to be maximally effective, monitoring of the growth and decline of the pest populations is essential. Here, we present the validation results of a new automated monitoring device for the poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae), a serious pest in laying hen facilities world-wide. This monitoring device (called an "automated mite counter") was validated in experimental laying hen cages with live birds and a growing population of D. gallinae. This valid ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundThe worldwide distributed hematophagous poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer, 1778) is one of the most important pests of poultry. Even though 35 acaricide compounds are available, control of D. gallinae remains difficult due to acaricide resistances as well as food safety regulations. The current study was carried out to identify putative excretory/secretory (pES) proteins of D. gallinae since these proteins play an important role in the host-parasite interaction and therefore represent potential targets for the development of novel intervention strategies. Additionally, putative transmembrane proteins (pTM) of D. gallinae were analyzed as representatives of this protein group also serve as promising targets for new control strategies.MethodsD. gallinae pES and pTM protein prediction was based on putative protein sequences of whole transcriptome data which was parsed to different bioinformatical servers (SignalP, SecretomeP, TMHMM and TargetP). Subsequently, pES and pTM protein sequences were functionally annotated by different computational tools.ResultsComputational analysis of the D. gallinae proteins identified 3,091 pES (5.6%) and 7,361 pTM proteins (13.4%). A significant proportion of pES proteins are considered to be involved in blood feeding and digestion such as salivary proteins, proteases, lipases and carbohydrases. The cysteine proteases cathepsin D and L as well as legumain, enzymes that cleave hemoglobin during blood digestion of the near related ticks, represented 6 of the top-30 BLASTP matches of the poultry red mite's secretome. Identified pTM proteins may be involved in many important biological processes including cell signaling, transport of membrane-impermeable molecules and cell recognition. Ninjurin-like proteins, whose functions in mites are still unknown, represent the most frequently occurring pTM.ConclusionThe current study is the first providing a mite's secretome as well as transmembranome and provides valuable insights into D. gallinae pES and pTM proteins operating in different metabolic pathways. Identifying a variety of molecules putatively involved in blood feeding may significantly contribute to the development of new therapeutic targets or vaccines against this poultry pest.
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