Poster Instructions for Ag-ESD Symposium 2010
Poster Abstract
Please follow these instructions for preparation of a one page abstract of your poster
presentation.
1.
2.

Language
English Only
Abstract format (Refer to example below)

Title of Presentation (Bold 14 pt Times New Roman)
Author name, affiliation and body of abstract should follow the title without bold type
and with a 12 pt Times New Roman fontName(s) of author(s) should include the Given Name first, Middle Name next
and FAMILY NAME last with Family Name in All Capital Letters
Your abstract should be single spaced.
Use right justification with a 3.0 cm top margin and2.5 cm margins for the bottom and both sides.
Length of the summary should not exceed one page.

Poster Format, Display and Example
1. Language
English only
2. Size
We recommend you prepare an A0 size poster (841 mm wide × 1189 mm tall).
3. Format
The format of the poster is basically free. However, please include yourpresentation tile, names(s) of presenter(s) and affiliation(s). You can include aphotograph of yourself if you would like. (Font size should be large enough to beread from 2 m)
4. Display
Posters can be hung in the designated area of the University of Tsukuba 30th
Anniversary Hall (総合交流会館) between 12:00 noon on Monday November 8th
and 5:00 pm November 10th. Please hang your poster as soon as possible during so
participants of the symposium will have more opportunities to view your poster.
Each poster will be assigned a number and a list of the numbers for the posters will
be displayed in the poster room. Please confirm the number of your poster on thelist and hang your poster under the designated number. Supplies needed to hangyour poster will be available in the poster room.
You are expected to stand in front of your poster during the poster session on
Thursday November 11th from 9:00 am to 11:30 am to explain and answer questions
about your poster.
5. Removal
Please remove your poster on November 12th before 5 pm. If a poster is notremoved by that time we will take it down and keep it at the Agricultural andForestry Research Center, where you can claim it at your convenience.
6. Best Poster Award
Each poster will be evaluated by international guests and faculty members of theUniversity of Tsukuba during the poster session on Thursday November 11thbetween 9:00 and 11:30 am. Best poster award(s) will be presented based on theevaluation. Awards for best posters will be presented at 13:00 pm on November
11th at the beginning of the afternoon session of the symposium in the Special
Conference Room of University Hall A.

Genetic Studies on Tick Ecdysteroid Regulation for Development of
Sustainable Tick Control Strategies
Mari HORIGANE1,2 and DeMar TAYLOR112

Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
Fellow of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of ScienceTicks are exoparasites of mammals and important pest of livestock production. Presently,
tick management is limited to the use of acaricides that provide great advantages to livestock
production but also ticks develop resistant against acaricides. Development of alternative
ways for sustainable livestock production is required. The knowledge of tick ecology andphysiology is important to construct strategies for integrated tick management. Tick molting
and reproduction require blood feeding and are under endocrinological regulation. Therefore,
our studies focus on the roles of blood feeding and mating in the regulation of theseendocrinological mechanisms.
Viable egg production requires both engorgement and mating, but the distinct roles ofthese two stimuli are not understood. The soft tick Ornithodoros moubata provides an
excellent model to study the separate roles of feeding and mating because both virgin andmated females engorge but only mated females produce viable eggs. Ecdysteroid titers
significantly increased in only mated females and remained low in virgin females. In addition,
both mated and virgin females showed up-regulation of EcR and RXR hormonal receptorsimmediately after engorgement. Both mated and virgin females showed Vg expression during
an early phase (3 to 10 days) after engorgement, whereas only mated females showed
increased Vg expression during the late phase (12 to 20 days). Whole mount in situ
hybridization revealed the main site of Vg expression is the midgut during the early phase
while the fat body enlarges and shows strong Vg expression during the late phase in only
mated females. Therefore, feeding stimulates Vg expression in both virgin and mated females
while mating is required for Vg up-regulation in the late phase. Furthermore, mating appears
to induce secretion of ecdysteroids after engorgement and high titers of ecdysteroids
up-regulate Vg expression in mated females leading to mature egg production. This two phaseregulation of vitellogenesis in O. moubata reveals the importance of investigating theseparate roles of nutrition and mating in arthropod reproduction. Understanding thesemechanisms may lead to the development of better strategies for the use of hormone agonists
in controlling tick populations.