title: Genomic insights into the Ixodes scapularis tick vector of Lyme disease.
abstract: Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of the tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors pathogens that cause Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis and other diseases. The large genome reflects accumulation of repetitive DNA, new lineages of retro-transposons, and gene architecture patterns resembling ancient metazoans rather than pancrustaceans. Annotation of scaffolds representing ∼57% of the genome, reveals 20,486 protein-coding genes and expansions of gene families associated with tick-host interactions. We report insights from genome analyses into parasitic processes unique to ticks, including host 'questing', prolonged feeding, cuticle synthesis, blood meal concentration, novel methods of haemoglobin digestion, haem detoxification, vitellogenesis and prolonged off-host survival. We identify proteins associated with the agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, an emerging disease, and the encephalitis-causing Langat virus, and a population structure correlated to life-history traits and transmission of the Lyme disease agent.
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Gulia-Nuss
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Andrew B
authors: AB
authors: Nuss
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Jason M
authors: JM
authors: Meyer
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginina 23529, USA.
authors: Daniel E
authors: DE
authors: Sonenshine
authors: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA.
authors: R Michael
authors: RM
authors: Roe
authors: Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva 1211, Switzerland.|Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva 1211, Switzerland.|Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.|The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
authors: Robert M
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4199-9052
authors: RM
authors: Waterhouse
authors: Centre for Respiratory Biology, UCL Respiratory Department, Division of Medicine, University College London, Rayne Building, 5 University Street, London WC1E 6JF, UK.
authors: David B
authors: DB
authors: Sattelle
authors: SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ronda de Toledo sn, Ciudad Real 13005, Spain.|Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 250 McElroy Hall, Stillwater, Oklahama 74078, USA.
authors: José
authors: J
authors: de la Fuente
authors: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, Rockville, Maryland 20852, USA.
authors: Jose M
authors: JM
authors: Ribeiro
authors: VectorBase/EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK.
authors: Karine
authors: K
authors: Megy
authors: Bioinformatics Core, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Jyothi
authors: J
authors: Thimmapuram
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Jason R
authors: JR
authors: Miller
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Brian P
authors: BP
authors: Walenz
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Sergey
authors: S
authors: Koren
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Jessica B
authors: JB
authors: Hostetler
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Mathangi
authors: M
authors: Thiagarajan
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Vinita S
authors: VS
authors: Joardar
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Linda I
authors: LI
authors: Hannick
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Shelby
authors: S
authors: Bidwell
authors: VectorBase/EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK.
authors: Martin P
authors: MP
authors: Hammond
authors: Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Young
authors: Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
authors: Qiandong
authors: Q
authors: Zeng
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
authors: Jenica L
authors: JL
authors: Abrudan
authors: Departament de Genètica &Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona E-08028, Spain.
authors: Francisca C
authors: FC
authors: Almeida
authors: SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ronda de Toledo sn, Ciudad Real 13005, Spain.
authors: Nieves
authors: N
authors: Ayllón
authors: Bioinformatics Core, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Ketaki
authors: K
authors: Bhide
authors: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA.
authors: Brooke W
authors: BW
authors: Bissinger
authors: Vascular Physiopathology, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Madrid 28029, Spain.
authors: Elena
authors: E
authors: Bonzon-Kulichenko
authors: Centre for Respiratory Biology, UCL Respiratory Department, Division of Medicine, University College London, Rayne Building, 5 University Street, London WC1E 6JF, UK.
authors: Steven D
authors: SD
authors: Buckingham
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA.
authors: Daniel R
authors: DR
authors: Caffrey
authors: Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA.
authors: Melissa J
authors: MJ
authors: Caimano
authors: Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland.
authors: Vincent
authors: V
authors: Croset
authors: Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology Program, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
authors: Timothy
authors: T
authors: Driscoll
authors: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.
authors: Don
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6646-7274
authors: D
authors: Gilbert
authors: Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology Program, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
authors: Joseph J
authors: JJ
authors: Gillespie
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.|Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
authors: Gloria I
authors: GI
authors: Giraldo-Calderón
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.|Department Biological Sciences, Markey Center for Structural Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Jeffrey M
authors: JM
authors: Grabowski
authors: Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Jiang
authors: Department of Microbial Molecular Biology, Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute, Giza 12619, Egypt.
authors: Sayed M S
authors: SMS
authors: Khalil
authors: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
authors: Donghun
authors: D
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, 250 McElroy Hall, Stillwater, Oklahama 74078, USA.
authors: Katherine M
authors: KM
authors: Kocan
authors: Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA.
authors: Juraj
authors: J
authors: Koči
authors: Department Biological Sciences, Markey Center for Structural Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Richard J
authors: RJ
authors: Kuhn
authors: Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA.
authors: Timothy J
authors: TJ
authors: Kurtti
authors: Department of Neurosystems, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
authors: Kristin
authors: K
authors: Lees
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Emma G
authors: EG
authors: Lang
authors: Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.
authors: Ryan C
authors: RC
authors: Kennedy
authors: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
authors: Hyeogsun
authors: H
authors: Kwon
authors: Department Biological Sciences, Markey Center for Structural Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Rushika
authors: R
authors: Perera
authors: Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
authors: Yumin
authors: Y
authors: Qi
authors: Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA.
authors: Justin D
authors: JD
authors: Radolf
authors: Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
authors: Joyce M
authors: JM
authors: Sakamoto
authors: Departament de Genètica &Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona E-08028, Spain.
authors: Alejandro
authors: A
authors: Sánchez-Gracia
authors: Department of Entomology, Center for Disease Vector Research, University of California, Riverside, California 92506, USA.
authors: Maiara S
authors: MS
authors: Severo
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA.
authors: Neal
authors: N
authors: Silverman
authors: Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA.
authors: Ladislav
authors: L
authors: Šimo
authors: Department of Pathology, Cambridge Genomic Services, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK.|Department of Physiology, School of Medicine-CIMUS-Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela 15782, Spain.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Tojo
authors: Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08003, Spain.
authors: Cristian
authors: C
authors: Tornador
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Janice P
authors: JP
authors: Van Zee
authors: Vascular Physiopathology, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Madrid 28029, Spain.
authors: Jesús
authors: J
authors: Vázquez
authors: Departament de Genètica &Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona E-08028, Spain.
authors: Filipe G
authors: FG
authors: Vieira
authors: SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ronda de Toledo sn, Ciudad Real 13005, Spain.
authors: Margarita
authors: M
authors: Villar
authors: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA.
authors: Adam R
authors: AR
authors: Wespiser
authors: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
authors: Yunlong
authors: Y
authors: Yang
authors: Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA.
authors: Jiwei
authors: J
authors: Zhu
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California 91768, USA.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Arensburger
authors: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
authors: Patricia V
authors: PV
authors: Pietrantonio
authors: Parasitology Section, School of Chemistry &Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors: Stephen C
authors: SC
authors: Barker
authors: GeneCology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Queensland 4556, Australia.
authors: Renfu
authors: R
authors: Shao
authors: Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva 1211, Switzerland.|Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva 1211, Switzerland.
authors: Evgeny M
authors: EM
authors: Zdobnov
authors: Department of Biology, Center for Functional and Comparative Insect Genomics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark.
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Hauser
authors: Department of Biology, Center for Functional and Comparative Insect Genomics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark.
authors: Cornelis J P
authors: CJP
authors: Grimmelikhuijzen
authors: Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA.
authors: Yoonseong
authors: Y
authors: Park
authors: Departament de Genètica &Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona E-08028, Spain.
authors: Julio
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6839-9148
authors: J
authors: Rozas
authors: Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland.
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Benton
authors: Department of Entomology, Center for Disease Vector Research, University of California, Riverside, California 92506, USA.
authors: Joao H F
authors: JHF
authors: Pedra
authors: Department of Microbiology, Immunology &Biochemistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, USA.
authors: David R
authors: DR
authors: Nelson
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
authors: Maria F
authors: MF
authors: Unger
authors: Cancer Genome Project, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK.|Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, University of Vigo, Vigo 36310, Spain.
authors: Jose M C
authors: JMC
authors: Tubio
authors: Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA.
authors: Zhijian
authors: Z
authors: Tu
authors: Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors: Hugh M
authors: HM
authors: Robertson
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Martin
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7467-9701
authors: M
authors: Shumway
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Granger
authors: G
authors: Sutton
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Jennifer R
authors: JR
authors: Wortman
authors: VectorBase/EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Lawson
authors: Department of Medical Sciences, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Connecticut 06518, USA.
authors: Stephen K
authors: SK
authors: Wikel
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Vishvanath M
authors: VM
authors: Nene
authors: Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
authors: Claire M
authors: CM
authors: Fraser
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
authors: Frank H
authors: FH
authors: Collins
authors: The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
authors: Bruce
authors: B
authors: Birren
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Karen E
authors: KE
authors: Nelson
authors: J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA.
authors: Elisabet
authors: E
authors: Caler
authors: Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
authors: Catherine A
authors: CA
authors: Hill
mesh_terms: D041081:Anaplasma phagocytophilum; D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics; D018884:Ixodes / Q000235:genetics*; D058446:Ligand-Gated Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000635:transmission; D009865:Oocytes; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D058446:Ligand-Gated Ion Channels