Protein synthesis induced by heat in an Ixodes tick

We determined whether ambient temperature influences the proteins produced by Ixodes dammini ticks. Nonfed adult females were subjected to temperature pulses, and 35S-labeled methionine was injected into the hemocoel or used as an incubation medium for excised salivary glands. Heat-induced protein synthesis was observed in both whole-body and excised salivary gland preparations from nonattached ticks solely when ambient temperature was raised to 42°C. The approximate Mr of each protein was 88 kilodaltons (kDa), 75 and 74 kDa, and between 21 and 27 kDa for a group of lower molecular weight proteins. In another experimental series, ticks were allowed to attach to rabbits and then were subjected to temperature pulses. The 88 and 74 kDa proteins were present in preparations from nonheated ticks that had attached for 1 h. Only small amounts of these proteins were evident in tissues prepared from ticks attached for 2 days or more. Heat-induced proteins became apparent in ticks that were incubated at 42°C, regardless of time of attachment. © 1989.