The appearance of heme, an organic ring surrounding an iron atom, in evolution forever
changed the efficiency with which organisms were able to generate energy, utilize gasses …

A blood-sucking habit appeared independently several times in the course of arthropod
evolution. However, from more than a million species of insects and arachnids presently …

Ticks transmit more pathogens to humans and animals than any other arthropod. We
describe the 2.1 Gbp nuclear genome of the tick, Ixodes scapularis (Say), which vectors …

Formation of malaria pigment or haemozoin is the major route of haem detoxification in the
malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum as well as several other species of …

A half century ago, Max Perutz and John Kendrew determined the crystal structure of two
heme-containing proteins: hemoglobin and myoglobin, respectively. 1, 2 These landmark …

The cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is one of the most harmful parasites
affecting bovines. Similarly to other hematophagous ectoparasites, R. microplus saliva …

Ixodes scapularis is the most medically important tick species and transmits five of the 14
reportable human tick borne disease (TBD) agents in the USA. This study describes LC …

Ticks are among the most important vectors of a wide range of human and animal diseases.
During blood feeding, ticks are exposed to an enormous amount of free iron that must be …

Haem and iron homeostasis in most eukaryotic cells is based on a balanced flux between
haem biosynthesis and haem oxygenase-mediated degradation. Unlike most eukaryotes …

Adult females of the genus Ixodes imbibe blood meals exceeding about 100 times their own
weight within 7‒9 days. During this period, ticks internalise components of host blood by …