A Endosymbiont Is a Potential Source of Essential B-Vitamins for the Poultry Red Mite, .

Many obligate blood-sucking arthropods rely on symbiotic bacteria to provision essential B vitamins that are either missing or at sub-optimal levels in their nutritionally challenging blood diet. The poultry red mite , an obligate blood-feeding ectoparasite, is a serious threat to the hen egg industry. Poultry red mite infestation has a major impact on hen health and welfare and causes a significant reduction in both egg quality and production.

Transcriptomic analysis of the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, across all stages of the lifecycle.

Background: The blood feeding poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae, causes substantial economic damage to the egg laying industry worldwide, and is a serious welfare concern for laying hens and poultry house workers. In this study we have investigated the temporal gene expression across the 6 stages/sexes (egg, larvae, protonymph and deutonymph, adult male and adult female) of this neglected parasite in order to understand the temporal expression associated with development, parasitic lifestyle, reproduction and allergen expression.

Results: RNA-seq transcript data for the 6 stages were mapped to the PRM genome creating a publicly available gene expression atlas (on the OrcAE platform in conjunction with the PRM genome).

RNAi gene knockdown in the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer 1778), a tool for functional genomics.

Background: The avian haematophagous ectoparasite Dermanyssus gallinae, commonly known as the poultry red mite, causes significant economic losses to the egg-laying industry worldwide and also represents a significant welfare threat. Current acaricide-based controls are unsustainable due to the mite's ability to rapidly develop resistance, thus developing a novel sustainable means of control for D. gallinae is a priority.

The evaluation of feeding, mortality and oviposition of poultry red mite ( ) on aging hens using a high welfare on-hen feeding device.

A study was performed to examine any effect of hen age on the feeding ability and mortality of different life-stages of [Poultry Red Mite (PRM)] when fed using a high welfare, on-hen mite feeding device. Mite feeding assays were carried out every two weeks on a cohort of five Lohman Brown hens with devices containing adult and deutonymph PRM or adult and protonymph PRM. Feeding rates and mortality of each PRM life stage and oviposition of adult female PRM were evaluated over an 18-week period.

An improved method for in vitro feeding of adult female Dermanyssus gallinae (poultry red mite) using Baudruche membrane (goldbeater's skin).

Background: Dermanyssus gallinae, or poultry red mite (PRM), is an important ectoparasite in laying hen, having a significant effect on animal welfare and potentially causing economic loss. Testing novel control compounds typically involves in vitro methodologies before in vivo assessments. Historically, in vitro methods have involved PRM feeding on hen blood through a membrane.

Psoroptes ovis-Early Immunoreactive Protein (Pso-EIP-1) a novel diagnostic antigen for sheep scab.

Aims: Serodiagnosis of sheep scab is an established diagnostic method and has become popular in recent years. However, the current diagnostic antigen, Pso o 2, has shown promise as a component of a recombinant vaccine for scab, making it incompatible with discriminating between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). Here, we describe the discovery and characterization of a novel Psoroptes ovis immunodiagnostic antigen, P.

A vaccinology Approach to the Identification and Characterization of Candidate Protective Antigens for the Control of Poultry Red Mite Infestations.

The poultry red mite (PRM), , is a hematophagous ectoparasite considered as the major pest in the egg-laying industry. Its pesticide-based control is only partially successful and requires the development of new control interventions such as vaccines. In this study, we follow a vaccinology approach to identify PRM candidate protective antigens.

A genomic analysis and transcriptomic atlas of gene expression in Psoroptes ovis reveals feeding- and stage-specific patterns of allergen expression.

Background: Psoroptic mange, caused by infestation with the ectoparasitic mite, Psoroptes ovis, is highly contagious, resulting in intense pruritus and represents a major welfare and economic concern for the livestock industry Worldwide. Control relies on injectable endectocides and organophosphate dips, but concerns over residues, environmental contamination, and the development of resistance threaten the sustainability of this approach, highlighting interest in alternative control methods. However, development of vaccines and identification of chemotherapeutic targets is hampered by the lack of P.

Reduction in Oviposition of Poultry Red Mite () in Hens Vaccinated with Recombinant Akirin.

The poultry red mite (PRM), , is a hematophagous ectoparasite of birds with worldwide distribution that causes economic losses in the egg-production sector of the poultry industry. Traditional control methods, mainly based on acaricides, have been only partially successful, and new vaccine-based interventions are required for the control of PRM. Vaccination with insect Akirin (AKR) and its homolog in ticks, Subolesin (SUB), have shown protective efficacy for the control of ectoparasite infestations and pathogen infection/transmission.

Evaluation of vaccine delivery systems for inducing long-lived antibody responses to antigen in laying hens.

, the poultry red mite, is a global threat to the commercial egg-laying industry. Control of is difficult, with only a limited number of effective pesticides and non-chemical treatments available. Here, we characterize the candidate vaccine antigen cathepsin D-1 (Dg-CatD-1) and demonstrate that purified refolded recombinant Dg-Cat-D1 (rDg-CatD-1) is an active aspartyl proteinase which digests haemoglobin with a pH optimum of pH 4.

Draft Genome Assembly of the Poultry Red Mite, .

The poultry red mite, , is a major worldwide concern in the egg-laying industry. Here, we report the first draft genome assembly and gene prediction of , based on combined PacBio and MinION long-read sequencing. The ∼959-Mb genome is predicted to encode 14,608 protein-coding genes.

Investigation and treatment of ovine psoroptic otoacariasis.

Background: Psoroptic otoacariasis has been described worldwide and is caused by a mite morphologically indistinguishable from the sheep scab mite Psoroptes ovis. A single treatment of affected sheep with 200 μg/kg of injectable ivermectin is reported to be curative.

Case Report: Psoroptes mites were isolated following treatment with ivermectin, but treatment with moxidectin at 1 mg/kg caused complete cessation of clinical signs.

A recombinant subunit vaccine for the control of ovine psoroptic mange (sheep scab).

Sheep scab, caused by infestation with the mite Psoroptes ovis, is highly contagious, causing intense pruritus and represents a major welfare and economic concern. Disease control strategies rely upon chemotherapy, however, sustainability is questionable due to issues of chemical residues, eco-toxicity and acaricide resistance. Control by vaccination is supported by demonstration of protective immunity in sheep previously infested with P.

The use of a Psoroptes ovis serodiagnostic test for the analysis of a natural outbreak of sheep scab.

Background: Sheep scab is a highly contagious disease of sheep caused by the ectoparasitic mite Psoroptes ovis. The disease is endemic in the UK and has significant economic impact through its effects on performance and welfare. Diagnosis of sheep scab is achieved through observation of clinical signs e.

Development of a serodiagnostic test for sheep scab using recombinant protein Pso o 2.

Early stages of sheep scab, the disease caused by the non-burrowing mite Psoroptes ovis, are often sub-clinical, or can be mis-diagnosed. A diagnostic test capable of detecting early disease and latent infestations is therefore highly desirable in disease control. This paper describes the design and validation of an ELISA, which incorporates a recombinant P.

Transcriptomic analysis of the temporal host response to skin infestation with the ectoparasitic mite Psoroptes ovis.

Background: Infestation of ovine skin with the ectoparasitic mite Psoroptes ovis results in a rapid cutaneous immune response, leading to the crusted skin lesions characteristic of sheep scab. Little is known regarding the mechanisms by which such a profound inflammatory response is instigated and to identify novel vaccine and drug targets a better understanding of the host-parasite relationship is essential. The main objective of this study was to perform a combined network and pathway analysis of the in vivo skin response to infestation with P.