Analysis of microbial load in female salivary glands.

Abstract

<p>The salivary glands of ticks treated with both Rep-Family RNAi and Aam-41580 RNAi were assessed for their total bacterial loads on day 8 of feeding. MP depletion in the salivary glands caused a significant reduction in the total microbial load in ticks in which both the MP family and single genes were knocked down. Bacterial loads after both types of knockdown were 5–12-fold lower than those of the Lac-Z-RNAi-treated and no-treatment control salivary glands. *P < 0.05.</p