An insight into the proteome of the saliva of the argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata reveals important differences in saliva protein composition between the sexes

Tick saliva contains pharmacologically active molecules that allow these parasites to obtain a blood meal from the host and facilitate host infection by tick-borne pathogens. Recent transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of the salivary glands of several tick species have provided data sets that are invaluable for a better understanding of tick sialomes and tick–host–pathogen relationships. Here we performed a proteomic study of the saliva from the argasid tick Ornithodoros moubata. Saliva samples from female and male specimens were analyzed separately by LC–MS/MS before and after their equalization to facilitate the identification of the less abundant proteins. We report the array of 193 proteins identified in the saliva of O. moubata showing: (i) the broad and complex composition of the saliva of this tick, in good agreement with the complexity of the argasid and ixodid sialomes described previously; (ii) a notable difference in the saliva proteomes of females and males, since only 10 of the proteins identified appeared to be shared by both sexes; and (iii) the presence in the salivary fluid of a wide range of proteins known to be housekeeping/intracellular, which could be secreted in unconventional ways, including exosome secretion.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (179 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► We report the first proteome of the saliva from a soft tick, Ornithodoros moubata. ► The protein composition of O. moubata saliva greatly differs between sexes. ► This difference was unexpected and its biological meaning is discussed. ► The 77.5% of the proteins identified in the saliva are intracellular/housekeeping. ► These housekeeping proteins might be playing additional unrecognized functions at the tick–host interface.