Project for Joint Usage/Research Center (From 2017 to 2021) “Establishment of Tick Biobank and its application to vector biology research”

Ticks are one of the important arthropods that transmit protozoal diseases. In the livestock industry, the precise control measures against ticks are always required because ticks can cause the magnitude of economic loss. Ticks suck blood not only in animals but also in human. The occurrence of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis in human has been reported in Hokkaido.
Since 2017, we have been promoting the project “Establishment of Tick Biobank and its application to vector biology research” for further progress of the study relating to ticks and ticks-borne diseases. The goal of this project is establishment of “Tick Biobank” including construction of system of identification, maintenance and supply of ticks as well as aggregation of data relating to genetic information. Through the project, we are going to conduct collaborative and/or contract research with other institutes and companies. In addition, by conducting outreach activities, we are working with a view to diffusing scientific knowledge of ticks.

ESTs from the organs and embryos of parthenogenetic Haemaphysalis longicornis

2021.09.14

Publication:
Umemiya-Shirafuji R, Zhou J, Liao M, Battsetseg B, Boldbaatar B, Hatta T, Kuboki T, Sakaguchi T, Chee HS, Miyoshi T, Huang X, Tsuji N, Xuan X, Fujisaki K. Data from expressed sequence tags from the organs and embryos of parthenogenetic Haemaphysalis longicornis. BMC Res Notes 14, 326 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-021-05740-3

ESTs from the organs and embryos of parthenogenetic Haemaphysalis longicornis were deposited in the DNA DataBank of Japan (DDBJ). The data files contain accession numbers, entry names, and the BLASTX search results, which are downloadable:

Fat Body
Accession numbers: HY961648-HY969032
Data file 1_ESTs_Hl_Fat Body (Umemiya-Shirafuji et al.).xlsx
http://doi.org/10.24556/00004700

Hemolymph
Accession numbers: HY969033-HY977335
Data file 2_ESTs_Hl_Hemolymph (Umemiya-Shirafuji et al.).xlsx
http://doi.org/10.24556/00004701

Midgut
Accession numbers: HY977336-HY984720
Data file 3_ESTs_Hl_Midgut (Umemiya-Shirafuji et al.).xlsx
http://doi.org/10.24556/00004702

Ovary
Accession numbers: HY984721-HY993015
Data file 4_ESTs_Hl_Ovary (Umemiya-Shirafuji et al.).xlsx
http://doi.org/10.24556/00004703

Salivary glands
Accession numbers: DC574924-DC583394
Data file 5_ESTs_Hl_Salivary glands (Umemiya-Shirafuji et al.).xlsx
http://doi.org/10.24556/00004704

Embryo
Accession numbers: HY953903- HY961647
Data file 6_ESTs_Hl_Embryo (Umemiya-Shirafuji et al.).xlsx
http://doi.org/10.24556/00004705

Publication list regarding H. longicornis ESTs

Tokachi Tick Encyclopedia

2020.04.14

The leaflet provides detailed information on ticks and shows tick species distributed in Tokachi district, eastern Hokkaido, Japan.

Tokachi Tick Encyclopedia
Obihiro University Archives of Knowledge

A mini-review regarding tick studies was published in Medical Entomology and Zoology

2019.12.27

Hard ticks as research resources for vector biology: from genome to whole-body level
Umemiya-Shirafuji R, Fujisaki K, Okado K, Adjou Moumouni PF, Yokoyama N, Suzuki H, Inoue N, Xuan X.
Med Entomol Zool. 2019; 70(4): 181-188.
https://doi.org/10.7601/mez.70.181

In this mini-review, we described a concise overview of recent advances of omics approaches in tick research. We also discussed the importance of laboratory colonies of ticks and the prospect of tick research in Japan.

Publication in Current Research in Parasitology & Vector-Borne Diseases

2021.11.25

Molecular detection of Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) and Rickettsia spp. in hard ticks distributed in Tokachi District, eastern Hokkaido, Japan.
Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. 2021; 1: 100059.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpvbd.2021.100059

“Climate, Ticks and Disease” has been published

2022.01.28

The following contribution was published as Expert Opinion (eo) in “Climate, Ticks and Disease”.

Climate, Ticks and Disease (CABI)
Edited by: Pat Nuttall
eo27: Distribution, seasonal occurrence, and biological characteristics of Haemaphysalis longicornis, a vector of bovine piroplasmosis in Japan.
Umemiya-Shirafuji R.
2021 Nov: 183-187.
https://www.cabi.org/bookshop/book/9781789249651/