Fig. 3

Quantification of the SOD activity and total oxidative stress levels in superoxide dismutase-silenced naïve tick midguts. a Cytosolic and b mitochondrial SOD enzymatic activities in tick midgut and salivary gland tissues were estimated using Superoxide Dismutase Assay Kit (Cayman Chemical Co, Ann Arbor, MI, USA). The tissue cytosolic fraction was used for determining the enzymatic activity of Cu/Zn-SOD, and mitochondrial fraction was reconstituted to assess Mn-SOD activity. c A Lipid Peroxidation (MDA) Assay Kit (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) was used for estimating total oxidative stress in the tick midgut tissues. The MDA-TBA adduct was spectrometrically estimated at 532 nm in each control and knockdown tick midgut