Characterization of an immunogenic region of the Bm86 antigen as an improved vaccine against the Rhipicephalus microplus tick

Abstract

One of the main health problems in cattle farming is infestations caused by ticks. The most important species is Rhipicephalus microplus, which affects 80% of bovine population worldwide. Its control is mainly based on the use of ixodicides. However, excessive and inappropriate use has generated multi-resistant strains of ticks. Alternatively, immune control has been proposed as an important method to reduce tick populations. The recombinant Bm86 vaccine is the only commercially available and reports variations in its efficacy due to polymorphisms in the gene's coding sequence. Therefore, this work aimed to characterize an immunogenic region of Bm86 strain R. microplus "Media Joya" to propose a vaccine candidate that is conserved and with minimal variability in its efficacy. Computational tools, molecular biology techniques, and phylogenetic analysis were used. As a result, an immunogenic region consisting of 178 amino acids and 98–100% identity/similarity were obtained concerning strains of R. microplus ticks from the Americas. Furthermore, it is necessary to evaluate the immuno-protective potential of the Bm86 region characterized in this work as an anti-tick vaccine.