De novo transcriptome sequencing and profiling of ovarian development of Argas persicus along the trophogonic cycle

Fen Yan¹Deyong Duan¹Jinzhu Meng^2*Tianyin Cheng^3*

• ¹College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
• ²Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization in the Fanjing Mountain Region, Tongren University, Tongren, China
• ³Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China

Argas persicus is a hematophagous ectoparasite of poultry and is the vector of several agents infectious to poultry. This study aims to explore the key genes affecting the ovarian development of Argas persicus. RNA-seq was performed on the ovaries from A. persicus before blood-feeding, on the day of engorgement, and 6 days post-engorgement. A total of 1,008 differentially expressed genes were obtained during the feeding period, including 448 up-regulated and 560 down-regulated genes. Further, 2,179 differentially expressed genes were screened in the preoviposition stage, including 1,957 up-regulated and 222 down-regulated genes. These genes are mainly annotated in functions such as peptidase activity (especially serine protease activity), protein folding, protein assembly, and cell component assembly, and enriched in pathways such as protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, lysosome, glutathione metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism. In addition, some genes that closely related to ovarian development, including HSP70, PDI, PRM, TnI, HEX, serine protease, Kunitz serine protease inhibitors, and vitellogenin were obtained. These findings fill the gap in the biological data of ovarian development of soft ticks, provide a reference database for subsequent proteomics research, and offer fundamental support for the screening and development of candidate antigens for anti-tick vaccines.