AUTHOR=Saelao Perot , Hickner Paul V. , Bendele Kylie G. , Pérez de León Adalberto A. 

TITLE=Phylogenomics of Tick Inward Rectifier Potassium Channels and Their Potential as Targets to Innovate Control Technologies

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.647020

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.647020

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Ticks and tick-borne pathogens cause diseases of public health an veterinary importance worldwide. Research on tick genomics offers the opportunity to discover vulnerabilities in tick-pathogen-host interactions that could be exploited to innovate tick-borne disease control technologies. Inward rectifier potassium channels (Kir) are candidate targets for the development of novel therapeutics against hematophagous arthropod disease vectors including ticks. In animals Kir play key roles in homeostasis, diuresis, and salivary gland secretion. However, gaps in our knowledge exists regarding the evolutionary relationships of Kir in ticks. Genomic data was used to investigate the evolutionary history of  Kir in soft and hard ticks. Kir genomic data from insects was used to provide context to these analyses. Kir channels sequences were identified in 20 species of hard and soft ticks. In contrast to the three to four Kir channel subtypes in insects, only one was found in ticks. This observation suggests that the Kir channel lineage expanded during arthropod evolution. This study also identified salient molecular characteristics of Kir channels in ticks. How this information can be adapted to innovate tick control technologies is discussed.