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Video Q&A ViewAttendees 3

Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

Section Symposium

Vector/pathogen Molecular and Cellular Interactions On-Demand Presentations

Cellular stress responses elicit protective immunity in ticks against transmissible pathogens

On-Demand
On-Demand
The insect immune deficiency (IMD) pathway is a defense mechanism that senses and responds to Gram negative bacteria. Ticks lack genes encoding upstream components that initiate the IMD pathway. Despite this deficiency, core signaling molecules are present and functionally restrict tick-borne pathogens. The molecular events preceding activation are unclear. Here, we show that the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) initiates the IMD network in Ixodes scapularis ticks. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress receptor, IRE1α, is phosphorylated in response to tick-borne bacteria, but does not splice the mRNA encoding XBP1. Instead, the Ixodes IRE1α pairs with TRAF2 to potentiate the IMD pathway and the production of antimicrobial effectors. Altogether, we demonstrate that the UPR-IMD pathway circuitry limits the Lyme disease-causing spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and the rickettsial agent Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Altogether, our study uncovers the upstream signaling requirements of the IMD pathway in ticks.