Bilateral BBSRC-FAPESP: Defining the Genetic and Semiochemical Basis of Tick Resistance in Cattle
Lead Research Organisation:
Rothamsted Research
Department Name: Biointeractions and Crop Protection
Abstract
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Technical Summary
Ticks have major impacts on animals and humans, worldwide. As well as transmitting disease, ticks lead to weight loss, anaemia and secondary infections. Acaricides are used for tick control, but this is problematic due to acaricide-resistance and chemical residue issues. But animals differ substantially in tick load, and this is genetically controlled. We hypothesize that the primary means by which host cattle differ in tick resistance is via their semiochemicals profiles, i.e. attractant/repellent volatile chemicals on the skin surface, with 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (a generic stress compound) being our primary candidate. We will perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for tick resistance, characterize semiochemicals which differ between cattle with high and low tick infestations (resistant and susceptible animals), identify genes differentially expressed between resistant and susceptible animals, integrate the results to obtain insights into the genetic and biochemical basis of tick resistance, and devise control options. The GWAS will be performed on >1000 Girolando cattle in Brazil, which will have been intensively phenotyped for tick burden with detailed epidemiological data (to identify risk factors). GWAS will be performed using data from the high density bovine SNP chip, giving >750,000 genotypes per animal, and analysed with current state-of-the-art techniques. From skin rubbings from animals with extreme tick counts, semiochemical profiles will be characterised using high resolution chromatography (GC, HPLC) and spectroscopic analysis. Gene expression will be performed using RNAseq on skin biopsies from extreme animals, before and after infestation, and pathways co-expressed with resistance determined. Together these data will inform on true extent of genetic control, underlying mechanisms and indicate actual loci contributing to variation. Validated SNPs for resistance will be identified, as will potential semiochemicals to be used as repellents.
Planned Impact
The impact of this project will be upon 1) Brazilian and UK academia and R&D, specifically research institutes and university departments undertaking animal health and agricultural/food production research, 2) business, particularly dairy industries worldwide, 3) Government and inter-Governmental policy makers, particularly those involved in tick control and livelihoods of animal keepers, 4) animal welfare, 5) the environment and 6) the general public. Currently, world food production is characterized by rising commodity prices and concerns over environmental impacts of livestock production. These are difficult challenges at a time when there is increased world-wide demand for animal protein yet continual pressure on animal producers.
Tick infestations are an intractable problem in many parts of the world, worsening with reduced efficacy of acaricides and pressures to limit acaricide usage. Ticks affect animal health, directly and through tick-borne diseases, animal welfare, productivity and the environmental. Sustainable solutions are urgently sought: those provided by this project potentially include the use of host genetics, refined repellents and improved management strategies - and hence will be appropriate for livestock production systems varying greatly in sophistication and technological capabilities. For example, this project will identify SNPs that can be used to breed animals for enhanced resistance. This is a simple, sustainable, cumulative and long term solution, exploiting the fact that dairy industries world-wide now select animals using SNP chip assays. However, it requires a sophisticated breeding infrastructure to work, making it an appropriate technology for most but not all cattle breeders. However, if semiochemicals are identified that can be used as tick repellents we will have a control technique that can be implemented in most situations, particularly where breeding solutions are challenging or immediate control is required. Lastly, if improved management practices can be identified from the epidemiological analyses, these can be applied in any situation, alongside (and enhancing) other control strategies.
The project will impact considerably at the environmental level. The cattle industry has a large carbon footprint and is responsible for a significant proportion of the gaseous emissions that impact on global warming. Switching away from cattle production is not an option in the short term, as the major products (milk and beef) are highly valued by society. Thus, the most straightforward way of reducing these environmental impacts is through increasing the efficiency of the production system, whilst respecting animal welfare; it can be demonstrated that this will lead to significant reductions in environmental impact. Outputs of this project will lead towards this goal. Secondly, tick control has traditionally been through acaricide usage. In addition to acaricide resistance, such chemicals carry a high environmental and human health impact, with chemical residue concerns, and their usage should be minimized. This project will move towards providing the solutions to substitute these chemicals by more sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions.
The project will impact on the general public through more efficient and productive ruminant livestock industries, as this will lead to a more sustainable supply of high quality dairy and beef products. The public will also take comfort knowledge that animals are being farmed in a more welfare-friendly way. The public will also benefit in the medium term from decreased chemical usage, and in the long term from the contributions to decreased environmental impact from cattle production.
In summary, this project will make major contributions to animal health, welfare and productivity, hence to food security, with impacting on Government, through industry, to the general public. The return on investment for the research is potentially enormous.
Tick infestations are an intractable problem in many parts of the world, worsening with reduced efficacy of acaricides and pressures to limit acaricide usage. Ticks affect animal health, directly and through tick-borne diseases, animal welfare, productivity and the environmental. Sustainable solutions are urgently sought: those provided by this project potentially include the use of host genetics, refined repellents and improved management strategies - and hence will be appropriate for livestock production systems varying greatly in sophistication and technological capabilities. For example, this project will identify SNPs that can be used to breed animals for enhanced resistance. This is a simple, sustainable, cumulative and long term solution, exploiting the fact that dairy industries world-wide now select animals using SNP chip assays. However, it requires a sophisticated breeding infrastructure to work, making it an appropriate technology for most but not all cattle breeders. However, if semiochemicals are identified that can be used as tick repellents we will have a control technique that can be implemented in most situations, particularly where breeding solutions are challenging or immediate control is required. Lastly, if improved management practices can be identified from the epidemiological analyses, these can be applied in any situation, alongside (and enhancing) other control strategies.
The project will impact considerably at the environmental level. The cattle industry has a large carbon footprint and is responsible for a significant proportion of the gaseous emissions that impact on global warming. Switching away from cattle production is not an option in the short term, as the major products (milk and beef) are highly valued by society. Thus, the most straightforward way of reducing these environmental impacts is through increasing the efficiency of the production system, whilst respecting animal welfare; it can be demonstrated that this will lead to significant reductions in environmental impact. Outputs of this project will lead towards this goal. Secondly, tick control has traditionally been through acaricide usage. In addition to acaricide resistance, such chemicals carry a high environmental and human health impact, with chemical residue concerns, and their usage should be minimized. This project will move towards providing the solutions to substitute these chemicals by more sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions.
The project will impact on the general public through more efficient and productive ruminant livestock industries, as this will lead to a more sustainable supply of high quality dairy and beef products. The public will also take comfort knowledge that animals are being farmed in a more welfare-friendly way. The public will also benefit in the medium term from decreased chemical usage, and in the long term from the contributions to decreased environmental impact from cattle production.
In summary, this project will make major contributions to animal health, welfare and productivity, hence to food security, with impacting on Government, through industry, to the general public. The return on investment for the research is potentially enormous.
Organisations
- Rothamsted Research (Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) (Collaboration)
- Federal University of São Paulo (Collaboration)
- Agricultural Research Council (ARC) (Collaboration)
- Federal University of Goiás (Collaboration)
- EGERTON UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
Publications

De Oliveira Filho J
(2017)
Brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, infestation of susceptible dog hosts is reduced by slow release of semiochemicals from a less susceptible host
in Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

Ferreira L
(2019)
Identification of a non-host semiochemical from tick-resistant donkeys (Equus asinus) against Amblyomma sculptum ticks
in Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

Oliveira Filho JG
(2018)
Persistence and efficacy of a new formulation based on dog allomonal repellents against Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato tick.
in Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria = Brazilian journal of veterinary parasitology : Orgao Oficial do Colegio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria

Pickett JA
(2014)
Vertebrate pheromones and other semiochemicals: the potential for accommodating complexity in signalling by volatile compounds for vertebrate management.
in Biochemical Society transactions

Zeringóta V
(2021)
Identification of a non-host semiochemical from miniature pinscher, Canis lupus familiaris, that repels Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Acari: Ixodidae).
in Ticks and tick-borne diseases
Description | The overarching goal of this collaborative project between Rothamsted Research, University of Edinburgh (Roslin) and University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was to provide fundamental understanding of the factors underlying genetic variation in the resistance of Brazilian cattle to tick infestations, at both the genetic and biochemical levels. The study design and knowledge gained was aimed at serving as a paradigm for dissecting genetic variation in host-ectoparasite interactions whilst, simultaneously, providing practical information necessary to provide sustainable improvements in tick control. Overall, we have defined the Girolando breed in Brazil as the target cattle population (ca. 1150 individuals) and shared the phenotype data between Rothamsted, USP and Roslin. We have intensively phenotyped cattle for tick load (every 2 weeks for 5 months), through assessment of ticks counts following body and leg brushes, tick reproductive capability and hair follicle characteristics. We have collected blood from phenotyped cattle, and have genotyped animals with a high density bovine single nucleotide polymorphism array (BovHD chip/750K SNP chip) at Roslin. Preliminary analyses indicate that the genetics of resistance to ticks is influenced by multiple loci. For the Rothamsted component of this project, we have collected skin rubbings and volatile samples from phenotypically extreme animals wrt tick resistance. Semiochemical profiles (attractant/repellent volatile chemicals) were sent to Rothamsted for GC, HPLC, MS analysis, compound identification and quantification, structure confirmation using authentic standards obtained from commercial suppliers/ chemical synthesis and multivariate analysis. Multivariate analysis has been used to measure differences between samples from extreme phenotypes. Collection of skin rubbings and volatiles for analysis was facilitated by a six month visit to University of Sao Paulo by junior researcher Andre Sarria, a recently recruited Brazilian PDRA at Rothamsted, with skills being transferred to the USP team for further development of the project in Brazil; a visit to the Federal University of Goias by Dr Sarria to study assays for investigating tick chemical ecology. |
Exploitation Route | Globally, sustainable intensification of livestock production systems requires the delivery of new livestock protection tools via breeding of resistance traits against ectoparasites (flies, ticks, mites). The findings here underpin the practical development of new livestock protection interventions based on chemical ecology, specifically animal stress signalling, and which can be delivered via the breeding-in of associated genetics for stress signal production. Delivery of impact from the findings in 3 ODA countries (Brazil, South Africa and Kenya) is being supported by 2 BBSRC GCRF-IAA projects and a newly awarded BBSRC Newton-Kenya grant (see further funding for details) and by a patent filing on a new tick repellent from non-hosts. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink |
Description | Developing a New Tool for Phenotyping Tick Resistance in Cattle |
Amount | £100,809 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/S004882/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2019 |
End | 10/2020 |
Description | GCRF-IAA |
Amount | £6,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/GCRF-IAA/18 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | GCRF-IAA |
Amount | £10,500 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/GCRF-IAA/17/18 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2018 |
End | 02/2018 |
Description | Collaboration with ARC Animal Production Institute, South Africa, on Genetic and Semiochemical Basis of Tick Resistance in Cattle |
Organisation | Agricultural Research Council (ARC) |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Expertise in cattle-tick semiochemistry |
Collaborator Contribution | Livestock production systems |
Impact | Publications expected |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Collaboration with Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health, University of Edinburgh |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Expertise in livestock - tick semiochemistry |
Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in livestock genetics |
Impact | No outcomes have yet been achieved. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Collaboration with Egerton University |
Organisation | Egerton University |
Country | Kenya |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Expertise in cattle - tick semiochemistry |
Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in livestock health and nutrition |
Impact | No outcomes have yet been achieved. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Collaboration with ILRI |
Organisation | International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) |
Country | Kenya |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Expertise in cattle - tick semiochemistry |
Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in livestock - tick interactions and tick biology |
Impact | No outcomes have yet been achieved. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Genetic and semiochemical basis of tick resistance in Brazilian cattle |
Organisation | Federal University of Goiás |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-Investigator; post doctoral scientist |
Collaborator Contribution | Principal Investigator (Roslin); co-investigator (Sao Paulo; Goias) |
Impact | Peer-review papers on tick resistance in vertebrates; |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Genetic and semiochemical basis of tick resistance in Brazilian cattle |
Organisation | Federal University of São Paulo |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-Investigator; post doctoral scientist |
Collaborator Contribution | Principal Investigator (Roslin); co-investigator (Sao Paulo; Goias) |
Impact | Peer-review papers on tick resistance in vertebrates; |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Genetic and semiochemical basis of tick resistance in Brazilian cattle |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Department | The Roslin Institute |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-Investigator; post doctoral scientist |
Collaborator Contribution | Principal Investigator (Roslin); co-investigator (Sao Paulo; Goias) |
Impact | Peer-review papers on tick resistance in vertebrates; |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | GCRF-IAA workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Attended GCRF-IAA funded workshop at ARC-ODI, South Africa, 5-8 December 2017. Gave presentation "Volatile-Based Resistance against Ectoparasites" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Institute for Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Oral presentation given at Institute for Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 12th November 2014. "New Chemical Ecology Based Opportunities for Agriculture in the Face of Global Climate and Population Challenges". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | International Symposium on Biotechnology and the Environment, |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 2nd International Symposium on Biotechnology and the Environment, Pucon, Chile, 28 November - 2 December 2016 (invited plenary). "Vector/host interactions: new opportunities for protection of plants and vertebrate animals against arthropod vectored pathogens by exploiting stress related signalling" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Oral presentation at Federal University of Goias Veterinary School. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited oral presentation at Federal University of Goias Veterinary School, 8th September 2016 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Oral presentation at IUPAC Pesticide Chemistry Congress, San Francisco, USA |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Oral presentation given at 248th ACS National Meeting, IUPAC Pesticide Chemistry Congress, San Francisco, 12th August 2014. "New Chemical Ecology Based Opportunities for Agriculture in the Face of Global Climate and Population Challenges". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Oral presentation given at University of Edinburgh, Roslin Institute |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Seminar given on 'Volatile Phenotypes in Hosts: Can They Be Exploited for Improved Animal Health?' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Poster presentation at 3rd Agriscience Chemical Biology Forum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Poster presentation given at 3rd Agriscience Chemical Biology Postgraduate Forum, 31st March 2017. "Defining the semiochemical basis of tick resistance in farmed livestock and companion animals" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Presentation at KNUST, Ghana |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | 2 Seminars given - 1 by Mike Birkett, 1 by Jozsef Vuts |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Talk at Federal University of Goias - Brazil |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Oral presentation given in Chemistry Department in Federal University of Goias - Brazil, 11th September 2016 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |