Amblyomma maculatum strain:Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge (Gautier, MS) Transcriptome or Gene expression

Ticks are vectors for a significant number of bacterial, protozoan and viral organisms. Pathogen transmission is accompanied with blood feeding and, in fact, tick salivary glands secrete a number of important antioxidants, antihistamines and immunosuppressive proteins which potentiate pathogen transmission. In this study, we examine the impact of inhibiting selenoprotein biosynthesis on the physiology of the gulf-coast tick and the corresponding effects on an important human Rickettsial pathogen.