title: Control of tick infestations and pathogen prevalence in cattle and sheep farms vaccinated with the recombinant Subolesin-Major Surface Protein 1a chimeric antigen.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the use of chemical acaricides, tick infestations continue to affect animal health and production worldwide. Tick vaccines have been proposed as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative for tick control. Vaccination with the candidate tick protective antigen, Subolesin (SUB), has been shown experimentally to be effective in controlling vector infestations and pathogen infection. Furthermore, Escherichia coli membranes containing the chimeric antigen composed of SUB fused to Anaplasma marginale Major Surface Protein 1a (MSP1a) (SUB-MSP1a) were produced using a simple low-cost process and proved to be effective for the control of cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus and R. annulatus infestations in pen trials. In this research, field trials were conducted to characterize the effect of vaccination with SUB-MSP1a on tick infestations and the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in a randomized controlled prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two cattle and two sheep farms with similar geographical locations and production characteristics were randomly assigned to control and vaccinated groups. Ticks were collected, counted, weighed and classified and the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens at the DNA and serological levels were followed for one year prior to and 9 months after vaccination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both cattle and sheep developed antibodies against SUB in response to vaccination. The main effect of the vaccine in cattle was the 8-fold reduction in the percent of infested animals while vaccination in sheep reduced tick infestations by 63%. Female tick weight was 32-55% lower in ticks collected from both vaccinated cattle and sheep when compared to controls. The seroprevalence of Babesia bigemina was lower by 30% in vaccinated cattle, suggesting a possible role for the vaccine in decreasing the prevalence of this tick-borne pathogen. The effect of the vaccine in reducing the frequency of one A. marginale msp4 genotype probably reflected the reduction in the prevalence of a tick-transmitted strain as a result of the reduction in the percent of tick-infested cattle.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data provide evidence of the dual effect of a SUB-based vaccine for controlling tick infestations and pathogen infection/transmission and provide additional support for the use of the SUB-MSP1a vaccine for tick control in cattle and sheep.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torina
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Moreno-Cid
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Blanda
authors.forename: Isabel G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Fernández de Mera
authors.forename: José M Pérez
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de la Lastra
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Scimeca
authors.forename: Marcellocalogero
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanda
authors.forename: Maria Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Scariano
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Briganò
authors.forename: Rosaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Disclafani
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piazza
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vicente
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gortázar
authors.forename: Santo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caracappa
authors.forename: Rossella Colomba
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Lelli
authors.affiliation: SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ronda de Toledo s/n, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain. jose_delafuente@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de la Fuente
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D000941:Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D060829:Arthropod Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005838:Genotype; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015995:Prevalence; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000662:veterinary*; D013987:Ticks / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary*; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000941:Antigens; D060829:Arthropod Proteins; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D014612:Vaccines; C449089:major surface protein 1a, Anaplasma; C550207:subolesin, tick