Cloning and Preliminary Identification of Olfactory-related NPC2 Gene of Haemaphysalis longicornis
NPC2 protein is a small molecular lysosomal protein with water solubility.In vertebrates,NPC2 protein is related to the binding and transport of cholesterol and lipids.In arthropods,NPC2 protein is involved in the binding and recognition of a variety of information chemicals.In order to further explore the molecular characteristics of NPC2 protein in ticks,the HL-NPC2 gene of Haemaphysalis longicornis was cloned and sequenced for prokaryotic expression.The resulting NPC2 protein was used to prepare mouse polyclonal antibodies.At the same time,real-time fluorescence quantitative qPCR was used to analyze NPC2 in tick tissues at different growth stages for testing olfactory correlation.The results showed that the ORF of HL-NPC2 protein was 468 bp,encoding 155 amino acids.NPC2 protein was present as a polymer in H.longicornis and expressed in all tissues of H.longicornis at different growth stages and blood-sucking stage.Olfactory correlation test showed that NPC2 protein might be related to the sense of smell of H.longicornis.This study was helpful to future study of the protein and the design of a new tick control strategy.