VETINDEX

Periódicos Brasileiros em Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia

p. 95-111

Endocrinologia e controle da vitelogênese em carrapatos

Seixas, AdrianaPatricia Oldiges, Daianeda Silva Vaz Jr., ItabajaraTermignoni, Carlos

Background:  :  :  : Ticks are distributed worldwide, with impacts on human and animal health. The cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is the main parasite that affects livestock in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, causing large economical losses. Tick control methods are based on the application of chemical acaricides, which has resulted in selection of resistant ticks and a potential risk of environmental pollution and food contamination. Vaccines have showed to be a feasible tick control method that offers a cost-effective, environmental friendly alternative to chemical control. However, more than ten years after the commercialization of the first vaccine against ticks, the identification of tick-protective antigens remains a limiting step in the development of an efficient formulation that would avoid the use of chemical acaricides. So, the study of parasite biology and understanding physiological mechanisms could be a good strategy to find new targets for an efficient vaccine. Review: It was reviewed the main insights about the reproductive process in ticks, emphasizing the hormonal control of vitellogenesis and enzymes involved in vitellin processing during embryogenesis. The processes of vitellogenesis and embryogenesis have been studied in various organisms, particularly in cockroaches, flies and ticks. Although the roles of 20-hydroxyecdysone

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