The aim of this work was to access the early immune response triggered by R. microplus larvae attachment in previously selected resistant and susceptible animals in a bovine F2 population derived from Gyr (Bos indicus) × Holstein (Bos taurus) crosses. We used microarray data both to access the changes in gene expression over the course of the first 48 hours after tick infestation as constrasting the phenotypically diferent groups.
Overall design
From a bovine F2 population, six tick-resistant (R) and seven tick-susceptible (S) animals were used in this experiment. Skin biopses were taken at the feeding sites before infestation (0 hour), 24 and 48 hours after tick infestation in each animal.