Lewis C E, Bartholomay L C, Blanchong J A
National Veterinary Services Laboratories, National Center for Animal Health, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, U.S.A.
Interdepartmental Microbiology Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, U.S.A.
Med Vet Entomol. 2020 Mar;34(1):123-126. doi: 10.1111/mve.12398. Epub 2019 Jul 25.
Development and maintenance of laboratory tick colonies provides reliable access to a variety of tick species at multiple life stages. Advances in techniques for the membrane feeding of ticks reduce the number of laboratory animals needed for colony maintenance. In the present study, modifications to the existing protocol for in vitro feeding of the argasid species Ornithodoros tartakovskyi were made. Adult O. tartakovskyi ticks of both sexes were allowed to feed to engorgement using a novel membrane feeding apparatus in a six-well plate format with well-inserts of laboratory-grade, wax sealing film. Of the 193 ticks placed on the membrane, 89% (n = 172) fed until engorgement and subsequently detached. The modified feeding method described will aid in future laboratory tick-based research because it allows for increased containment, ease of sorting, successful in vitro feeding, easy replacement of blood meals and a reduction in the total volume of blood meal required.
实验室蜱虫种群的培育与维持能够在多个生命阶段可靠地获取各种蜱虫物种。蜱虫膜饲技术的进步减少了维持种群所需的实验动物数量。在本研究中，对现有的钝缘蜱属物种塔氏钝缘蜱体外饲养方案进行了改进。使用一种新型的膜饲装置，以六孔板形式，配备实验室级蜡封膜插入物，让塔氏钝缘蜱的雌雄成虫吸食至饱血。放置在膜上的193只蜱虫中，89%（n = 172）吸食至饱血并随后脱落。所描述的改进饲养方法将有助于未来基于蜱虫的实验室研究，因为它具有更高的封闭性、便于分类、体外饲养成功、易于更换血餐以及减少所需血餐总体积的优点。
