Lefcort H, Durden L A
Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro 30460-8042, USA.
Parasitology. 1996 Aug;113 ( Pt 2):97-103. doi: 10.1017/s0031182000066336.
Little is known about the effects of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, on its tick vectors. The purpose of this study was to determine the behavioural and ecological effects of infection by the bacterium in nymphal and adult black-legged (Ixodes scapularis) ticks. We found that the effects of infection were more pronounced in adults than in nymphs. Compared to uninfected adults, infected adults were less able to overcome physical obstacles, avoided vertical surfaces, were less active and quested at lower heights. Infected nymphs showed increased phototaxis and attraction to vertical surfaces. Infected nymphs also showed trends toward increased questing height and a greater tendency to overcome physical obstacles although these trends were not statistically significant. These altered behaviours in an infected tick may affect survival or pathogen transmission and may reflect kin selection in the bacterial pathogen.
关于导致莱姆病的伯氏疏螺旋体感染对其蜱虫载体的影响，人们所知甚少。本研究的目的是确定该细菌感染对若虫和成年黑腿（肩突硬蜱）蜱虫的行为和生态影响。我们发现，感染的影响在成年蜱虫中比在若虫中更为明显。与未感染的成年蜱虫相比，感染的成年蜱虫克服物理障碍的能力较弱，避开垂直表面，活动较少且在较低高度进行搜寻。感染的若虫表现出增强的趋光性和对垂直表面的吸引力。感染的若虫在搜寻高度增加和克服物理障碍的倾向增强方面也表现出趋势，尽管这些趋势在统计学上并不显著。感染蜱虫的这些行为改变可能会影响生存或病原体传播，并且可能反映了细菌病原体中的亲缘选择。
