Cloning and sequence of a gene for a homologue of the C subunit of the V-ATPase from the salivary gland of the tick Amblyomma americanum (L).

A 1084 base pair partial cDNA showing similarity to the C subunit of the vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) was isolated on a clone from a cDNA library made from salivary glands from 3-day-old feeding adult Amblyomma americanum (L.) female ticks. The 5' end was completed using primer extension and the two pieces joined to form a complete cDNA of 1373 bp. This mRNA is expressed in embryos and the salivary glands of unfed adults and adult females at all stages of feeding. Specific inhibitors of the V-ATPase decrease the rate of dopamine-stimulated secretion of isolated salivary glands, but not as much as ouabain, an inhibitor of the Na+, K+ ATPase, indicating that a V-ATPase may participate in the mechanism of salivary fluid secretion in A. americanum, but the volume of saliva secreted is more dependent on an active Na+, K+ ATPase.