Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc Agric)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

The control of ticks on cattle has long been a matter of prime importance to stock owners over most of the intensive natural grazing areas in the Southern Hemisphere. The only practical method of dealing with the cattle tick problem in the short term is by treating the infected bovine host with ixodicides i. e. by chemical control. This can be achieved by either plunging the cattle into a dip tank containing aqueous suspensions or emulsions of the ixodicide or by spraying them with dip suspensions in a spray race.

This study was carried out to document the ethno-veterinary plants and non-plant remedies that farmers used to control dermatophilosis and ticks, and validate these in vitro and in vivo, as well as determine how the interface of Amblyomma variegatum and A. hebraeum affected the epidemiology of bovine dermatophilosis at selected small-holder areas in North-West Zimbabwe. A structured questionnaire survey was used to collect information on the control methods used by farmers for the control of bovine dermatophilosis and ticks. A total of 39 plants were used by farmers for various diseases, eleven of these plants were used for the control of dermatophilosis while three were for tick control. Across the study sites, dermatophilosis was controlled using eleven plants. Among these plants; six plants; Cissus quadrangularis, Catunaregan spinosa, Pterocarpus angolensis Carica papaya, Manihot esculenta and Blumea decurrens which were frequently used were selected for further studies. In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to validate the efficacy of these plants. The minimum inhibitory concentration and bactericidal concentration assays were used for the in vitro validation of C. quadrangularis, C. spinosa and P. angolensis. Dermatophilus congolensis was more sensitive to P. angolensis average MIC = 0.63 mg/ml than to C. quadrangularis average MIC = iii 1.25 mg/ml and C. spinosa average MIC = 2.08 mg/ml. Cissus quadrangularis was selected for in vivo studies as this plant was the one most frequently used by farmers. Its therapeutic efficacy was compared to conventional antibiotics that farmers used to treat dermatophilosis infection. In the in vivo trials C. quadrangularis did not lead to appreciable reduction in clinical disease compared to the conventional drugs. The larval packet assay was the in vitro assay used to validate the efficacy of Carica papaya, Manihot esculenta and Blumea decurrens against larvae of A. hebraeum and Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. Manihot esculenta at 20 % w/v exhibited the highest larvicidal activity against R. appendiculatus. In the in vivo study, efficacy of the plants were investigated on naturally tick-infested cattle. Mannihot esculenta exhibited the largest tick load reduction compared to the other two plants but its performance was lower than that of conventional acaricides. The effect of A. variegatum and A. hebraeum on bovine dermatophilosis was investigated by evaluating how the presence or absence of these ticks and other herd level risk factors predicted clinical dermatophilosis and its prevalence at herd level. A structured questionnaire survey was carried out to collect data on potential risk factors. At the same time, cattle were physically examined for the presence of bovine dermatophilosis, according to a pre-defined case definition, and presence or absence of Amblyomma ticks was also recorded. The multivariable binary logistic model was developed with disease status as outcome, tick presence and infestion and herd level risk factors as predictors. Of the herds examined clinical bovine dermatophilosis was detected in 45% (84/185; 95% CI: 38.2, 52.6%) of them. Herds infested with Amblyomma variegatum were associated with higher odds (OR= 6.8; iv 95% CI: 1.71, 27.10) of clinical dermatophilosis while the association was not significant (P > 0.05) in A. hebraeum infested herds. It was concluded that management practices aimed at movement and tick control would help reduce the prevalence of clinical dermatophilosis in herds.

Commercial (high-grade) BaS04 selectively adsorbs two proteins from crude 0. savignyi salivary gland extracts. They co-purify during reversed-phase HPLC, but can be separated by hydrophobic-interaction chromatography. Both proteins have been characterized in terms of their molecular mass, amino acid composition and one partial internal amino acid sequence was determined. Their molecular masses were established through electro-spray mass spectrometry as 9333 Da and 9173 Da, respectively. The 9.3 kDa protein was designated BSAP1 and the 9.1 kDa protein BSAP2. Their amino acid compositions shows significant differences, in particular the presence of 6-7 and 8 cysteine residues in BSAP1 and BSAP2, respectively. It is therefore unlikely that these proteins are isoforms. All of the cysteine residues are involved in the formation of disulphide bonds, the only possible exception being one residue in BSAP1. Both proteins appear to be N-terminally blocked. An internal amino acid sequence Asp/Ser-Gly-Gly-Xxx-Xxx-Ile-Leu-Gly was obtained by sequencing a fragment of the cyanogen bromide cleaved BSAP2. It was suspected that these proteins might exhibit anticoagulant activity. The prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPPT) in the presence of the presumptive inhibitors were therefore evaluated. The aPPT was not significantly prolonged. The PT however did indicate a slight delay in the clotting time. This delay is not due to inhibition of factor VII, one of only two unique coagulation factors in the extrinsic pathway. The other factor is thromboplastin, also known as tissue factor. The nature of the protein adsorption to BaS04 was examined. From literature it is known that ϒ-carboxyglutamic acid-containing proteins, as well as some hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine-rich glycoproteins adsorb selectively to BaS04. The BSAPs were analysed for the presence of these modified amino acids, but all tests proved negative. The absence of Gla residues was determined using a Gla-specific stain on a polyacrylamide gel and was confirmed by performing mass spectrometry on native and decarboxylated protein samples. The absence of hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine was demonstrated by amino acid analysis. Both BSAPI and BSAP2 bind to neutral and negative membranes. BSAPI binds neutral and negative membranes more strongly than BSAP2. Its affinity for negative membranes is however much lower than its affinity for neutral membranes. In contrast, BSAP2 binds both membranes equally strongly. The binding of the proteins to the membranes was significantly lowered upon pre-incubation with Ca2+. / Dissertation (MSc (Biochemistry))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Biochemistry / unrestricted

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When in close contact with the Yellow Dog Tick, Haemaphysalis leachi, dogs show clear signs of disgust or even nausea. It is accepted that the secretion is produced by the tick in order to prevent the dog from removing the tick from its body with its teeth, thereby increasing the chances for the tick's survival. The composition of this secretion was studied in order to identify the chemical compounds responsible for the repellent action of the secretion. Because of the dog's keen sense of smell, the tick only needs to produce minute quantities of this repellant, which significantly complicated the detection of the different components by conventional GC-methods. Several sampling and sample enrichment methods were explored, including solvent extraction, SPME sample enrichment, adsorption on active charcoal, cryoprecipitation, sorption in a phasecoated open tubular trap, as well as solventless sampling, in order to determine which method would ensure an appropriate amount of sample for gas chromatographic detection. Two of these sampling methods yielded acceptable results: The first method consisted of rinsing irritated female ticks with dichloromethane and, after concentrating the sample by evaporation, GC-MS analysis using normal splitless injection. The second method entailed collecting secretions by wiping irritated ticks with glass micro fibre filter paper after which the paper was inserted directly into the inlet liner of the GCMS system, where thermal desorption of the volatile constituents of the secretion preceded gas chromatographic separation and mass spectral detection. Live dogs were needed for the evaluation of the isolated material to determine whether the samples had an aversive effect on them. The extract was separated into different fractions, which were further separated into subfractions. After each separation process, all the fractions were tested for efficacy in order to determine which fraction contained the active components, narrowing down the number of candidate target compounds. It was concluded that a combination of aldehydes, namely hexanal, heptanal, octanal, nonanal, decanal, undecanal and dodecanal, is responsible for the dog repelling action of the secretion. In most cases the semiochemicals of insects and mammals are secreted in a more complex matrix to ensure prolonged activity. For this reason some of the other compounds in the complex cuticular secretion of this tick species were also identified during the course of this study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Honde toon duidelike tekens van afkeer of selfs naarheid wanneer hulle in noue kontak kom met die afskeiding van 'n sekere bosluisspesie, die geelhondebosluis, Haemaphysalis leachi. Daar word aangeneem dat die bosluis die afskeiding produseer om te verhoed dat die hond dit met sy bek van sy liggaam verwyder. Hierdeur word die oorlewingskanse van die bosluis verbeter. 'n Studie is gemaak van die samestelling van die vlugtige komponente van hierdie afskeiding om die chemiese verbindings, wat verantwoordelik is vir die afweer van honde, te identifiseer. As gevolg van die sensitiwiteit van 'n hond se reuksintuig, is dit vir die bosluis nodig om slegs uiters klein kwantiteite van hierdie afweerstof af te skei, wat die waarneming van die verskillende komponente deur middel van konvensionele GC-metodes baie bemoeilik het. Ten einde die mees effektiewe metode te vind wat 'n gepaste hoeveelheid monster vir waarneming op 'n gaschromatograafdetektor sou verseker, is verskeie monsternemings en -verrykingsmetodes ondersoek, naamlik oplosmiddelekstraksie, SPME-monsterverrykingsmetodes, adsorpsie op aktiewe koolstof, kriopresipitasie, sorpsie in 'n fase-belaagde oopbuisval en oplosmiddellose monsterneming, Twee monsternemingsmetodes het aanvaarbare resultate gelewer: Met die eerste metode is geïrriteerde wyfiebosluise met dichlorometaan afgespoel en die ekstrak is na indamping met behulp van monsterinspuiting sonder inlaatstroomverdeling deur middel van GC-MS geanaliseer. Met die tweede metode is die afskeiding van geïrriteerde bosluise met mikroglasveselpapier afgevee en die papier is direk in die binnebuis van die inlaat van die GC-MS-sisteem geplaas, waar die vlugtige komponente termies gedesorbeer is vir gaschromatografiese skeiding en massaspektrometriese waarneming. Om die aktiwiteit van die geïsoleerde materiaal te evalueer, is van lewende honde gebruik gemaak, om vas te stel of hulle aversie teenoor die betrokke monsters toon. Die ekstrak is in verskillende fraksies geskei, wat weer in subfraksies verder geskei is. Alle fraksies is na elke skeidingsproses getoets vir effektiwiteit om vas te stel watter van die fraksies die aktiewe verbindings bevat. Sodoende is die aantal moontlikhede vir die teikenverbindings met elke skeidingstap verminder. Daar is gevind dat 'n reeks aldehiede, naamlik heksanaal, heptanaal, oktanaal, dekanaal, undekanaal en dodekanaal, gesamentlik verantwoordelik is vir die afweer van honde. Insekte en soogdiere skei dikwels semioverbindings in 'n draermateriaal af om daardeur meer langdurige werking te verseker. In hierdie ondersoek is dus ook 'n begin gemaak met die identifisering van die ander verbindings wat in die besonder komplekse kutikulêre afskeiding van hierdie bosluisspesie aanwesig is.

Rabbits and goats were inoculated with crude, membrane-associated and soluble components extracted from unengorged adult females and nymphs of the bont tick Amblyomma hebraeum. Inoculation provided some protection against nymphal infestation, however it had little effect on adult feeding. Histological examination of adults fed on inoculated hosts showed evidence of gut damage. Skin provocation testing with tick extracts elicited a Type I immediate hypersensitivity which was influenced by antihistamine. A delayed skin reaction was also evident. Whether this was attributable to Type III Arthus reaction or Type IV cell-mediated hypersensitivity was not determined. A comparative histological study of sites of tick extract injection, on inoculated and naive hosts, demonstrated the role of eosinophils in the hosts response to tick feeding. Serological examination revealed elevated anti-A hebraeum lgG titres following inoculation. These titres were found to decrease in the ten weeks after inoculation, despite the hosts being repeatedly infested with A hebraeum. Although the IgG titres of naive control hosts increased after each tick infestation, they failed to reach the titres achieved through inoculation. Western blot analysis of serum from inoculated hosts recognized most of the A. hebraeum proteins against which it was screened.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc Agric (Animal Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

Thesis (MTech (Horticulture))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / Ticks and tick-borne diseases are important limiting factors to the attainment of sustainable animal and human health, affecting livelihood of resource poor farming communities in developing countries. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Amblyomma variegatum (Ixodidae) are among the most troubling tick species in Africa. While ticks can be controlled by applying chemical acaricides, these chemicals are quite expensive, especially, for small-scale famers in developing countries. Hence, the quest for alternative tick control over the years have revealed that entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) and plant extracts have huge prospects as sustainable alternatives for tick control. Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales) is a fungal entomopathogen with the ability to colonize plants endophytically and induce secondary metabolite production in plants, and it has been found to be a potential biological control agent against a wide range of arthropods. Several plant species including plant species belonging to the family Alliaceae possess anti-tick activities (repellent and toxic); therefore, integrating the two strategies by inoculating Tulbaghia violacea with B. bassiana could enhance secondary metabolite contents in extracts obtained from the plant and increase medicinal materials. The primary purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of indigenous endophytic entomopathogens inoculation of T. violacea on the plant growth, tissue nutrient contents and secondary metabolites, and anti-tick activities of extracts of T. violacea. The specific objectives were: (i) to carry out a study on the effects of inoculating T. violacea with fungal strains of B. bassiana and Clonostachys rosea on plant growth and tissue nutrient contents in extracts of T. violacea with the view of selecting one of the two fungi for further investigation (ii) to compare secondary metabolite profiles of extracts obtained from plants exposed to fungus (EPF) inoculum and control treatment during cultivation, and (iii) to determine whether exposure of T. violacea to an endophytic fungus (B. bassiana) during cultivation affects the repellent and acaricidal activities of extracts of T. violacea on A. variegatum and R. appendiculatus. The study had two experiments, presented in chapters two and three. In the first experiment, eight weeks old potted seedlings of T. violacea were inoculated separately with B. bassiana (strain SM3) and C. rosea (strain SM8) conidia suspended at concentrations of 1 x 106 conidia mL-1. Plant growth parameters, such as number of leaves, plant height (aerial part), fresh weights of aerial parts, and tissue nutrient contents were assessed. Results indicated that B. bassiana induced higher growth of plants than C. rosea. Inoculation with B. bassiana did not significantly (P ˃ 0.05) influence most of the growth parameters, number of leaves, fresht weight of roots and of fresh weight aerial parts (leaves) of T. violacea assessed in the current study. However, mean plant heights and root lengths were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in favour of B. bassiana treated plants compared to those in C. rosea. Fe contents in the roots (1416.3 ± 305.10 mg/kg) were found to be positively influenced (P < 0.05) by the fungal inoculation. There was a significant difference in roots (P < 0.05) on the uptake of Mn in C. rosea treated plants (243 ± 19 mg/kg) compared to the control group (169 ± 16.37 mg/kg) and B. bassiana treated roots (161.3 ± 14.44 mg/kg). Macro nutrients up take did not differ significantly among treatments on both leaves and roots (P > 0.05).

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-02-28T16:12:09Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Jaires Gomes de Oliveira Filho - 2018.pdf: 1814554 bytes, checksum: 3897a940820688b6672b09b6a409c4b8 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-02-28T16:12:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Jaires Gomes de Oliveira Filho - 2018.pdf: 1814554 bytes, checksum: 3897a940820688b6672b09b6a409c4b8 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-28T16:12:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Jaires Gomes de Oliveira Filho - 2018.pdf: 1814554 bytes, checksum: 3897a940820688b6672b09b6a409c4b8 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, the "brown dog tick", preferentially parasite the domestic dog, in the latter can parasite others mammals species including humans. This tick demonstrates a hunting behavior by its host, being widely attracted by the bark and the CO2 among other signs related to the presence of its hosts. Despite being commonly found parasite on dogs, it is known that some breeds such as beagles are less parasitic than other breeds like English Cocker Spaniel which can present a parasitic load about up to 11.5 times higher than mongrel dogs. It is notable a capacity of ticks and other arthropods in their hosts in relation to desirable or undesirable characteristics that can perceive these by means of chemoreception of volatile compounds emanated by these hosts. This adaptive tool is called olfactory aposematism. Olfactory apostotism is capable of an ectoparasite in avoiding its hosts through a perception of a volatile chemical emanated by it that signals a negative adaptive response to the arthropod. Usually this response may be linked to immune factors, excessive grooming, inaccessibility or other factors. One of the big problems nowadays undoubtedly is the control of ticks and diseases that are transmitted to their hosts during the blood repast. One of the alternatives for control of parasitism in order to deter ticks from the search for their hosts is a use of compounds found in resistant hosts that are interpreted by these arthropods as non-hosts. These compounds demonstrate a more specific activity between arthropod parasites and their hosts, since they were selected during an adaptation between species involved in this parasite-host relationship forging bases of parasite selection by susceptible and resistant hosts. / Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, também conhecido como “carrapato marrom do cão”, parasita preferencialmente o cão doméstico, no entanto pode parasitar inúmeras outras espécies mamíferas inclusive seres humanos. Este carrapato demonstra um comportamento de busca ativa por seu hospedeiro, sendo amplamente atraído pelo latido e pelo CO2 e outros sinais relacionados a presença de seus hospedeiros. Apesar de parasitar preferencialmente cães sabe-se que algumas raças como o beagle são menos parasitadas que outras raças como Cocker spaniel inglês que podem apresentar uma carga parasitaria cerca de até 11,5 vezes maior que cães mestiços. É notável a capacidade de carrapatos e demais artrópodes tem em selecionar seus hospedeiros em relação a características desejáveis ou indesejáveis que conseguem perceber destes, por meio da quimiorrecepção de compostos voláteis emanados pelos hospedeiros. A esta ferramenta adaptativa damos o nome aposematismo olfativo que é capacidade de um de parasito em evitar seus hospedeiros mediante a percepção de um químico emanado por este que sinalize uma resposta adaptava negativa ao artrópode. Geralmente esta resposta pode estar ligada a fatores imunes, excesso de grooming ou inacessibilidade ou demais fatores. Um dos grandes problemas na atualidade sem dúvida e o controle de carrapatos e doenças que são transmitem a seus hospedeiros durante o repasto sanguíneo. Uma das alternativas para o controle de parasitismo afim de dissuadir os carrapatos da busca por seus hospedeiros é uma utilização de compostos encontrados em hospedeiros resistentes que são interpretados por estes artrópodes como não hospedeiros. Estes compostos demonstram atividade mais especifica entre artrópode parasitos e seus hospedeiros, pois foram selecionados durante uma adaptação entre espécies envolvidas nesta relação parasitohospedeiro forjando bases da seleção de parasitos por hospedeiros suscetíveis e resistentes.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agric.)) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / The objectives of the study were to estimate genetic parameters for tick resistance and to evaluate the effect of the level of tick infestation on the estimates of genetic parameters in South African Bonsmara cattle. Field data of repeated tick count records (n = 11 280) on 1 176 animals were collected between 1993 and 2005 by ten breeders participating in the National Beef Recording and Improvement Scheme. The distribution of tick count records were normalized using a Box-Cox transformation. Data were divided into 7 sub-data sets based on the mean tick count per contemporary group, to facilitate the investigation of the effect of level of tick infestation on the derived genetic parameters. A repeatability animal model including the fixed effects of contemporary group and age of animal at tick counting and random effects of the direct additive genetic, permanent environmental and residual effects was used to estimate genetic parameters using REML procedures. The additive genetic variances for tick count ranged from 0.01 to 0.08. Variances for the permanent environment ranged from 0.00 to 0.03. Phenotypic variance decreased with increasing mean tick count level while additive genetic variance increased with increasing mean tick count level. The heritability also increased with mean tick count level until a mean tick count level of ≥30. The highest heritability estimate obtained in the current study was 0.17 for data with mean tick count level ≥25. These results suggest that sufficient genetic variation for tick count exists in the Bonsmara cattle. Therefore genetic selection for tick resistance is feasible even though genetic progress may be slow. / the Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST)