Nuss Andrew B, Mathew Manoj G, Gulia-Nuss Monika
Department of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Veterinary Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno;
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada, Reno.
J Vis Exp. 2017 May 8(123):55286. doi: 10.3791/55286.
Ixodes scapularis, the vector of Lyme disease, is one of the most important disease vectors in the eastern and Midwestern United States. This species is a three host tick that requires a blood meal from a vertebrate host for each development stage, and the adult females require a blood meal for reproduction. Larval ticks attach to their host for 3 - 5 days for feeding and drop off the host when fully engorged. This dependency on several different hosts and the lengthy attachment time for engorgement complicates tick rearing in the laboratory setting. However, to understand tick biology and tick-pathogen interactions, the production of healthy, laboratory-reared ticks is essential. Here, we demonstrate a simple, cost-effective protocol for immature tick feeding on mice. We modified the existing protocols for decreased stress on mice and increased tick feeding success and survival by using disposable cages without mesh bottoms to avoid contact of ticks with water contaminated with mice urine and feces.
肩突硬蜱是莱姆病的传播媒介，是美国东部和中西部最重要的疾病传播媒介之一。该物种是一种三宿主蜱，每个发育阶段都需要从脊椎动物宿主获取血餐，成年雌性蜱为了繁殖也需要血餐。幼虫蜱附着在宿主身上3至5天进行取食，饱食后从宿主身上掉落。这种对几种不同宿主的依赖以及饱食所需的较长附着时间，使得在实验室环境中饲养蜱变得复杂。然而，为了了解蜱的生物学特性和蜱与病原体的相互作用，培育健康的实验室饲养蜱至关重要。在此，我们展示了一种简单且经济高效的未成熟蜱在小鼠身上取食的方案。我们修改了现有方案，通过使用无底网的一次性笼子来避免蜱接触被小鼠尿液和粪便污染的水，从而减轻小鼠的压力并提高蜱的取食成功率和存活率。
