Abstract:
Species have definitive genomes. Even so, the transcriptional and translational products
of the genome are dynamic and subject to change over time. This is especially true for
the proteins secreted by ticks at the tick-host feeding interface that represent a complex
system known as the sialoverse. The sialoverse represent all of the proteins derived
from tick salivary glands for all tick species that may be involved in tick-host interaction
and the modulation of the host’s defense mechanisms. The current study contemplates
the advances made over time to understand and describe the complexity present in
the sialoverse. Technological advances at given periods in time allowed detection of
functions, genes, and proteins enabling a deeper insight into the complexity of the
sialoverse and a concomitant expansion in complexity with as yet, no end in sight. The
importance of systematic classification of the sialoverse is highlighted with the realization
that our coverage of transcriptome and proteome space remains incomplete, but that
complete descriptions may be possible in the future. Even so, analysis and integration of
the sialoverse into a comprehensive understanding of tick-host interactions may require
further technological advances given the high level of expected complexity that remains
to be uncovered
