Blood-feeding adaptations and virome assessment of the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae guided by RNA-seq

• DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04907-x
• Publication Date: 2023-05-15T12:03:43Z
• Authors: José M. Ribeiro; David Hartmann; Pavla Bartošová-S...; Humberto Debat; Martin Moos; Petr Šimek; Jiří Fara; Martin Palus; Matěj Kučera; Ondřej Hajdušek; Daniel Sojka; Petr Kopáček; Jan Perner
• Keywords: Human virome

Dermanyssus gallinae is a blood-feeding mite that parasitises wild birds and farmed poultry. Its remarkably swift processing of blood, together with the capacity to blood-feed during most developmental stages, makes this highly debilitating pest. To identify specific adaptations digestion haemoglobin-rich diet, we constructed compared transcriptomes from starved blood-fed stages parasite identified midgut-enriched transcripts. We noted midgut transcripts encoding cysteine proteases were upregulated blood meal. Mapping full proteolytic apparatus, reduction in suite proteases, missing homologues for Cathepsin B C. have further phylogenetically analysed three distinct vitellogenins facilitate reproductive mites. also fully mapped haem biosynthesis ferritin-based system iron storage inter-tissue trafficking. Additionally, proteins implicated immune signalling (Toll IMD pathways) activity (defensins thioester-containing proteins), RNAi, ion channelling (with targets commercial acaricides such as Fluralaner, Fipronil, Ivermectin). Viral sequences filtered Illumina reads described, part, RNA-virome D. identification novel virus, Red quaranjavirus 1.