Dermacentor variabilis Transcriptome or Gene expression. Dermacentor variabilis

Ticks are important vectors of pathogens throughout the world. In Manitoba they are of significant interest to health care officials since climate change is projected to increase their presence, along with the pathogens they carry. Despite their importance, there is little known on the amount and variation of the pathogens in the province. An effective tool we used against tick bites are repellents. DEET is considered the gold standard as an effective repellent of ticks. Considerable research has gone into the mode of action of DEET, and evidence has shown its effects are multi-modal. The mechanism for how DEET effects ticks is in its infancy. Ticks were collected from the wild, exposed to DEET and then harvested at specific time points post-exposure (15M, 4hr, 1Day). A whole tick transcriptome was also created.