Fig. 4

a Knockdown confirmation of HlPrx and/or HlPrx2 genes in partially fed adult ticks. Each tick total RNA was extracted from 3 ticks pooled. The left column indicates the detection primer set; actin was used as a control. The right column indicates the size of the PCR products. b Column graph for engorged body weight in the knockdown experiment. c Column graph for egg weight after finishing oviposition by engorged adult ticks in the knockdown experiment. Horizontal lines indicate the median values. Abbreviations: dsLuc, double-stranded Luciferase-injected group; dsHlPrx2, double-stranded HlPrx2-injected group; dsHlPrx, double-stranded HlPrx-injected group; dsDouble, both double-stranded HlPrx- and HlPrx2-injected group. ^* P < 0.05; ^** P < 0.01, significant differences vs dsLuc by Welch’s t-test