Molecular Characterization and Gene Expression Analysis of Aquaporin in

Aquaporins (AQPs) are important functional proteins and are widely present in the cell membrane of almost all organisms, mediating transmembrane transport of liquid and other solutes. Much is known about the molecular characterization of AQPs in other tick species; however, nothing is known about them in . In this study, we first sequenced the transcript variants of in (), analyzed the biological structure features of , and investigated the pattern of gene expression of the AQP gene of in different tick tissues and stages to predict their biological functions. In conclusion, four transcript variants (i.e., , , , and ) of were found, and the sequences were comparable with its orthologs from the reported tick species. Gene expression of AQPs in different tick tissues and stages showed the higher expression level in salivary glands and gut of adult female, as well as in the female and nymph than in Malpighian tubules, ovary, male, larvae, and egg. Further studies will be performed to evaluate the function of against infestation on animals.