Disease relevance of Emr4

• The distributions of Ixodes dammini Spielman, Clifford, Piesman, and Corwin and Lyme disease spirochetes were studied on Fire Island, N.Y. Adult ticks were more common in high-shrub habitats (shrubby vegetation greater than or equal to 1 m high) than in grassy and lowshrub habitats (vegetation less than 1 m) in spring and fall [1].

High impact information on Emr4

• Short interfering (si) RNAs have now been shown to inhibit gene expression in several species, including mammals (Elbashir et al.: Nature 411:494-498, 2001; Fire et al.: Nature 391:806-811, 1998) [2].
• Wild birds collected by mist netting on Fire Island, NY, were held in a field laboratory in cages over water and locally collected larval ticks were placed on the birds, harvested from the water after engorgement, and tested for infection by direct fluorescentantibody staining after molting to the nymphal stage [3].

References