{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,24]],"date-time":"2026-10-24T02:19:23Z","timestamp":1792808363498,"version":"4.5.0"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]]},"group-title":"Genomics","reference-count":0,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]],"date-time":"2026-04-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776384000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases","award":["R01AI148551"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01AI148551"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/043z4tv69","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases","award":["R21AI166633"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R21AI166633"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/043z4tv69","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"USDA-ARS","award":["2090-32000-043"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2090-32000-043"]}]},{"name":"USDA-ARS","award":["2040-30400-003-000D"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2040-30400-003-000D"]}]},{"name":"USDA-ARS","award":["0500-00093-001-00-D"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0500-00093-001-00-D"]}]},{"name":"National Institutes of Health","award":["U24HG013078"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U24HG013078"]}]},{"name":"National Institutes of Health","award":["P30AR070549"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P30AR070549"]}]},{"name":"Eyes High Postdoctoral Fellowship"},{"name":"Margaret Gunn Animal Endowment Fund"},{"name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada","award":["RMS21-73779779"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RMS21-73779779"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h531d29","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                  <jats:italic>Dermacentor andersoni<\/jats:italic>\n                  , the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is an important vector for pathogens impacting human and animal health, including bovine anaplasmosis, Colorado tick fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. A better understanding of the biology of this tick is needed for developing disease prevention and vector control strategies. A reference genome was assembled for\n                  <jats:italic>D. andersoni<\/jats:italic>\n                  using high-fidelity (HiFi) long-read PacBio sequences and HiC contact mapping, yielding a contiguous assembly in which most contigs matched one of 11 chromosomes. Genome annotation by the NCBI eukaryotic genome annotation pipeline revealed high gene content completeness, yielding a genome completeness score of 94.0% using the Arachnida ortholog dataset. Following genome sequencing, we identified specific genes involved in blood feeding across a range of tissue types and life stages for\n                  <jats:italic>D. andersoni<\/jats:italic>\n                  . To accomplish this, RNA-seq analysis was used to investigate differential gene expression across most organs in adult, nymphal, and larval\n                  <jats:italic>D. andersoni<\/jats:italic>\n                  before and after feeding. Based on this analysis, we identified several gene groups that are involved in blood feeding. Furthermore, we establish sex- and developmental-stage-specific transcriptional profiles. Collectively, this study advances knowledge of\n                  <jats:italic>D. andersoni biology<\/jats:italic>\n                  and enables the development of strategies to limit the spread of diseases transmitted by this tick.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.04.15.717773","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]],"date-time":"2026-04-18T04:00:12Z","timestamp":1776484812000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Genome sequencing and multi-stage, blood-feeding, and tissue-specific transcriptome atlas of the Rocky Mountain wood tick provide a critical resource for this vector"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"given":"Joshua E.","family":"Tompkin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Cincinnati;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Perot","family":"Saelao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Justyna","family":"Kruczalak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Calgary;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huiqing","family":"Yeo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Calgary;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pia U.","family":"Olafson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sheina B.","family":"Sim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kennan","family":"Oyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melissa","family":"Kelley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Cincinnati;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Renee L.","family":"Corpuz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian","family":"Scheffler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Scott M.","family":"Geib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Childers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoting","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matthew T.","family":"Weirauch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaun J.","family":"Dergousoff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John","family":"Soghigian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Calgary;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susan M.","family":"Noh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joshua","family":"Benoit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Cincinnati;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54368","container-title":[],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.64898\/2026.04.15.717773","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]],"date-time":"2026-04-18T04:00:12Z","timestamp":1776484812000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/biorxiv.org\/lookup\/doi\/10.64898\/2026.04.15.717773"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2026.04.15.717773","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,17]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}