Fucosylation enhances colonization of ticks by Anaplasma phagocytophilum |
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| Authors: | Joao H F Pedra Sukanya Narasimhan Dubravko Rendić Kathleen DePonte Lesley Bell‐Sakyi Iain B H Wilson Erol Fikrig |
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| Institution: | 1. Sections of Infectious Diseases and;2. Center for Disease Vector Research and Department of Entomology, University of California‐Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.;3. These authors contributed equally to this article.;4. Department für Chemie, Universit?t für Bodenkultur, Muthgasse 18, A‐1190 Wien, Austria.;5. Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.;6. The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1QH, UK.;7. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA. |
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| Abstract: | Fucosylated structures participate in a wide range of pathological processes in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The impact of fucose on microbial pathogenesis, however, has been less appreciated in arthropods of medical relevance. Thus, we used the tick‐borne bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum– the agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis to understand these processes. Here we show that A. phagocytophilum uses α1,3‐fucose to colonize ticks. We demonstrate that A. phagocytophilum modulates the expression of α1,3‐fucosyltransferases and gene silencing significantly reduces colonization of tick cells. Acquisition but not transmission of A. phagocytophilum was affected when α1,3‐fucosyltransferases were silenced during tick feeding. Our results uncover a novel mechanism of pathogen colonization in arthropods. Decoding mechanisms of pathogen invasion in ticks might expedite the development of new strategies to interfere with the life cycle of A. phagocytophilum. |
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