About the Authors

Jeeba A. Kuriakose

Affiliation Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America

Simone Miyashiro

Affiliation Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America

Tian Luo

Affiliation Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America

Bing Zhu

Affiliation Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America

Jere W. McBride

jemcbrid@utmb.edu

Affiliations Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America, Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America, Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: JAK JWM. Performed the experiments: JAK. Analyzed the data: JAK SM JWM. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: JAK JWM. Wrote the paper: JAK JWM. Assisted with tick cell culture: TL. Contributed to microarray design: BZ. Assisted in RNA extraction and quality analysis: SM. Read, revised and approved the final manuscript: JAK SM TL BZ JWM.