Josek Tanya, Gardner Allison M, Hedlund Tyler J, Parker Allison T, Allmann Updyke Erin, Allan Brian F
Department of Entomology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 317 Morrill Hall, 505. S Goodwin, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2019 Jan;77(1):59-64. doi: 10.1007/s10493-018-00338-0. Epub 2019 Jan 10.
Ticks use a variety of chemical cues to locate hosts, the main cue being carbon dioxide, which is exhaled by hosts. This study sought to experimentally determine whether ticks exhibit preference among human hosts based on host sex, as the chemical components of human male and female breath have been shown to differ. We focused on the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, due to its importance as a disease vector in the United States and its active host-seeking behavior. To test the hypothesis that ticks exhibit preference based upon host sex, we conducted a binary choice behavioral bioassay. Male and female human volunteers (n = 20 pairs) breathed into opposite sides of a secured polycarbonate tube containing 10 adult A. americanum and the proportion of ticks that exhibited a host preference was recorded. We found that under controlled conditions, human females attract a significantly larger proportion of ticks than males. Possible mechanisms to explain these results include that (1) female breath contains components that ticks find attractive, and/or (2) male breath contains a repellent chemical component.
蜱虫利用多种化学信号来定位宿主，其中主要信号是宿主呼出的二氧化碳。本研究旨在通过实验确定蜱虫是否会根据宿主性别对人类宿主表现出偏好，因为已有研究表明人类男性和女性呼出的化学成分存在差异。我们聚焦于美洲钝眼蜱，因其在美国作为疾病传播媒介的重要性以及积极的宿主寻找行为。为了验证蜱虫基于宿主性别表现出偏好这一假设，我们进行了二元选择行为生物测定。男性和女性人类志愿者（n = 20对）分别对着一根固定的聚碳酸酯管的两端呼气，管内有10只成年美洲钝眼蜱，记录表现出宿主偏好的蜱虫比例。我们发现，在受控条件下，女性吸引的蜱虫比例显著高于男性。解释这些结果的可能机制包括：（1）女性呼出的气体中含有蜱虫觉得有吸引力的成分，和/或（2）男性呼出的气体中含有一种驱避性化学成分。
