Mechanism of the toxic effects of tetracycline on blood meal digestion in Haemaphysalis longicornis
The extensive utilization of antibiotics in the field of animal husbandry gives rise to various concerns pertaining to the environment and human health. Here, we demonstrate that the administration of tetracycline impedes blood meal digestion in the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis . Tissue sectioning...
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Published in | Experimental & applied acarology Vol. 91; no. 4; pp. 681 - 695 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Cham
Springer International Publishing
01.12.2023
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The extensive utilization of antibiotics in the field of animal husbandry gives rise to various concerns pertaining to the environment and human health. Here, we demonstrate that the administration of tetracycline impedes blood meal digestion in the tick
Haemaphysalis longicornis
. Tissue sectioning, 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, and transcriptome sequencing of the midgut were employed to elucidate the mechanism underlying tetracycline toxicity. The treatment group consisted of engorged female ticks that were subjected to tetracycline microinjections (75 µg per tick), whereas the control group received sterile water injections. On days 2 and 4 following the injections, the tick body weight changes were assessed and the midguts were dissected and processed. Change in tick body weight in tetracycline-treated group was less than in the control group. In tetracycline-treated ticks, midgut epithelial cells were loosely connected and blood meal digestion was impaired compared to the control group. There was no significant change in midgut bacterial diversity after tetracycline treatment. On day 2 following treatment, the relative abundance of
Escherichia-Shigella
was significantly decreased, whereas the relative abundance of
Allorhizobium
was significantly increased compared to the control group. On day 4 following treatment, the relative abundance of
Escherichia-Shigella
,
Allorhizobium
,
Ochrobactrum
, and
Acidibacter
decreased significantly, whereas the relative abundance of
Paraburkholderia
and
Pelomonas
increased significantly. Tetracycline treatment also affected midgut gene expression, producing a cumulative effect wherein the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mostly down-regulated. KEGG enrichment pathway analysis revealed that on day 2 the up-regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in 21 pathways, including apoptosis and phagosome. Comparatively, the down-regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in 26 pathways, including N-glycan biosynthesis, lysosome, and autophagy. In contrast, on day 4 the up-regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in 10 pathways including aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, ribosome biogenesis, RNA transport, and DNA replication, whereas the down-regulated differential genes were significantly enriched in 11 pathways including lysosome, peroxisome, N-glycan biosynthesis, and fatty acid synthesis. This indicates that tetracycline injection inhibited blood meal digestion by affecting midgut digestive cells, gut flora diversity, and gene expression. These findings could contribute to tick control by inhibiting blood meal digestion. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0168-8162 1572-9702 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10493-023-00858-4 |