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TECHNICAL RESOURCES

In this virtual hub, explore the technologies, methodologies, and other resources that have been created or optimized through our Tick Immunity project. 

Our goal is to advance research in tick sciences. If you are interested in learning more about these technical resources or how to apply them in your own lab,
please contact us.
Reference genome for Ixodes scapularis tick

Our group, together with a network of interdisciplinary collaborators, created a highly improved I. scapularis genome, which is available through public databases such as NCBI (release number 103). This resource now serves as the reference genome for the species, representing a critical tool for basic or translational studies.

 

A parallel comprehensive data set for this genome is also available through VectorBase (release number 59).

Please see our in-depth study (De S., et al. Nat Genet, 2023) for further details on this genome, including its assembly, analysis, and demonstration of its contributions to the advancement of tick science.

Click below for a list of select gene-products with biological significance:

Novel or reannotated immune-related gene products

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Highlights of single-cell RNA sequencing

Schematic representation of the hemocyte-enriched collection procedure followed by single cell RNA sequencing and computational analysis to determine hemocyte clusters in Ixodes scapularis ticks

Rolandelli A., et al. Nat Commun, 2024.

CRISPR/Cas9 manipulation
of tick cell lines

Click through for a showcase of this technology, as seen in our publications: Rolandelli A., et al. Nat Commun, 2024 & Singh N., et al. mBio, 2024
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Tick metabolomics

Workflow to generate metabolomics datasets in tick cells. ISE6 cells are stimulated for a time point and microbes. Mass spectrometry can be performed on cell pellets followed by metabolite identification and pathway analysis.

Samaddar, S., et al. Nat Microbiol, 2024.

Interaction interrogation platform

As highlighted in Hart T., et al. Cell, 2024, a yeast display library was created to probe for human-microbe interactions (slide 1). This technology has also been developed for use in tick research (not yet published), where tick proteins were incorporated into the yeast display library (slide 2) for use in a platform called Ixodes scapularis Rapid Extracellular Antigen Monitoring (IscREAM; slide 3). This method can be applied to explore tick-pathogen or tick-host interactions.
Microinjection and detection of Borrelia in the tick gut

Learn more about two of the optimized technologies that are critical to Lyme disease research: microinjection of Borrelia into ticks (offering a much faster and more precise mode of infection), and localization of Borrelia in the tick gut via confocal immunofluorescence microscopy.

Detailed methodology from Kariu T., et al. J Vis Exp, 2011.

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