Boxplot representation of <i>R. rickettsii</i> load in <i>A. aureolatum</i> adult females.

<p>The bacterial load in unfed ticks incubated at either 25°C (G1) or 35°C (G2) or fed on dogs (G3) was determined by qPCR using specific primers and a TaqMan probe for <i>gltA</i>. The medians are represented by thicker black lines. Outliers are represented by empty circles. *<i>p</i><0.001, Wilcoxon test.</p

Location and orientation of genes encoding T4SS components repressed (A) or induced (B) by blood feeding in the <i>R. rickettsii</i> genome.

<p>Black arrows represent genes modulated in two biological replicates and grey arrows genes modulated in only one biological replicate in microarray experiments. The modulation of the ATPase VirB4 (A1G_00815; white arrow) was not observed.</p