Disease relevance of Ornithodoros

• The morphology of bovine erythrocytes undergoing hemolysis in the midgut of the argasid tick Ornithodoros concanensis Cooley & Kohls was examined after feeding nymphal ticks artificially on parafilm and latex membranes [1].
• Three isolations of a virus of the Hughes group were obtained from seabird ectoparasites, Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) maritimus, on Great Saltee Island, Ireland. The agent is closely related to Soldado virsu, originally obtained from related ticks near Trinidad, West Indies, and represents the second recorded tickborne arbovirus in Ireland [2].

High impact information on Ornithodoros

• A low molecular weight serine protease inhibitor (TAP) was purified from extracts of the soft tick, Ornithodoros moubata [3].
• Ornithodorin, isolated from the blood sucking soft tick Ornithodoros moubata, is a potent (Ki = 10(-12) M) and highly selective thrombin inhibitor [4].
• Complement inhibitor of C5 activation from the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata [5].
• Disagregin is a fibrinogen receptor antagonist lacking the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence from the tick, Ornithodoros moubata [6].
• Characterization of an alpha-macroglobulin-like glycoprotein isolated from the plasma of the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata [7].

Biological context of Ornithodoros

• Disagregin, a 6 kDa protein isolated from salivary glands of the tick Ornithodoros Moubata, is a potent and selective inhibitor of fibrinogen dependent platelet aggregation and of the adhesion of platelets to fibrinogen (Karczewski et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 6702-6708) [8].
• Ten strains of Johnston Atoll (JA) virus were isolated from Ornithodoros capensis collected in a Gannet (Sula bassana serrator) colony in New Zealand. Its sensitivity to ether and sodium deoxycholate were confirmed and it was shown to have an RNA genome [9].
• Stimulation of vitellogenesis by pyrethroids in mated and virgin female adults, male adults, and fourth instar females of Ornithodoros moubata (Acari: Argasidae) [10].

Associations of Ornithodoros with chemical compounds

• Existence of phenol oxidase in the argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata [11].
• In 1967, Vermeil and Marguet described Ornithodoros coniceps maritimus from larvae reared from larvae taken from marine birds on Dumet Island (Atlantic Ocean), Basse Bretagne, France. We collected O [12].
• Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) spheniscus n. sp., described from wild-caught and laboratory-reared females, males, nymphs, and larvae parasitizing the Humboldt Penguin, Spheniscus humboldti Meyen, is the fifth species of the Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) capensis group to be recognized in the Neotropical Region [13].
• 1. Pilocarpine-induced saliva of the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata inhibits platelet aggregation induced by ADP or collagen, even when diluted 2000 times into platelet rich plasma [14].
• Dry-ice (CO2) trap for efficient field collection of Ornithodoros coriaceus (Acarina: Argasidae) [15].

Gene context of Ornithodoros

• The prevalence of Soldado (SOL) virus and SOL virus antibodies was investigated on immature sea birds and the argasid tick Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) maritimus collected on Puffin Island, North Wales. No SOL virus was recovered from 133 bird sera, but 2 of the birds exhibited neutralizing antibodies against SOL virus [16].

References