Figure 1.

Confocal microscopy images of Am. maculatum hemocytes stained with phalloidin (green) and Hoechst 33342 (blue). Hemocytes were subtyped based on nuclear size and location and cytoplasmic projections (A). Granulocytes are relatively large and have multiple actin projections. Plasmatocytes are pyriform and have a centrally placed nucleus. Spherulocytes possess a peripherally placed nucleus. Prohemocytes are characterized by a relatively large nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio and oenocytoids by a smaller nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio. Hemocytes were incubated with Hoechst 33342 (blue) and Alexa Fluor™ 488 Phalloidin (green) that labels the nucleus and actin respectively. Representation of a phagocytic hemocyte following injection of green FluoSpheres and subsequent staining of the nucleus with Hoechst 33342 (blue) and membrane with Vybrant-CM Dil (Red) (B) and the quantification of phagocytic hemocytes in male and female ticks (C). Quantitative data were analyzed using unpaired t-tests in GraphPad Prism v8.4.1. ***P < 0.001. Scale bar = 10 μm.