Artificial Feeding of Amblyomma cajennense (Fabricius, 1787) (Acari: Ixodidae) through Silicone Membrane

Abstract

Artificial feeding of hematophagous arthropods was documented by Rodhaim et al. (1912), using defibrinated ovine blood and rat skin membrane to feed Glossina palpalis. Galun (1967) cited the existence of stimulants that regulate the feeding behavior of hematophagous arthropods, such as vision, temperature, relative humidity and chemical factors, that can act in combination or in isolation. Davis et al. (1983) described the preparation and use of a reinforced silicone membrane for the artificial feeding of Culicoides mississippensis. Stone et al. (1983) artifically fed Ixodes holocyclus using a silicone membrane. Butler et al. (1984) found five tick species of the Ornithodoros genus capable of being infected with the African Swine Fever using an artificial feeding system with silicone membrane.The different feeding strategies employed by the hematophagous arthropods have determined various degrees of difficulty in the search for the establishment of efficient technologies for their laboratory feeding. The hard ticks stand out as the arthropods that present the greatest difficulties in the development of an artificial feeding system capable of attending their needs. According to Brown (1989), the feeding strategy of ticks involves the mechanical reaction of their buccal appendages, effective in secreting substances like the prostaglandin E2 and anti-histamines, in the formation of a dermal pool where they feed. The same author showed that the argasid ticks differed from the ixodid ticks by the way they nourish themselves on the hosts and determined reactions which differed between these two tick Families. Because of this, the artificial feeding of the ixodids is more difficult, due to the necessities of greater attachment time and the necessary combination of host reactions required to meet their feeding needs.The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of different phago-stimulants collected from the hosts in initiating the attachment and feeding of A. cajennense in the laboratory utilizing silicone membrane and citrated bovine blood. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe specimens of A. cajennense used were collected from equines belonging to the Farm of the Instituto de Zootecnia, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, municipality of Seropédica, State of Rio de Janeiro. The ixodids ticks were obtained, as engorged nymphs, from the animals and maintained in a bioclimatized chamber at 28±1 o C and 75% relative humidity (RH) until adulthood.For the contention of the ticks, cages of 120 cc disposable plastic containers were constructed. For better air circulation, each cage contained three rectangular openings protected by tulle and covered with metal mesh. The bottom was substituted by silicone membrane, with a mean tickness of 0.056 mm.

Transstadial and transovarial persistence ofBabesia divergensDNA inIxodes ricinusticks fed on infected blood in a new skin-feeding technique

“…Despite the great medical and veterinary importance of ticks, relatively few studies have been reported on in vitro membrane feeding systems for gorging these vectors, due to their long, complex, and poorly understood feeding pattern (Joyner and Purnell, 1968 ;Kemp et al 1975 ;Wetzel, 1979 ;Kuhnert et al 1995 ;de Moura et al 1997). To our knowledge, this is the first report concerning membrane feeding of I. ricinus.…”

Identification of Lyme borreliae proteins promoting vertebrate host blood-specific spirochete survival in Ixodes scapularis nymphs using artificial feeding chambers

“…One strategy to test this possibility is to allow ticks carrying these mutant spirochetes to feed on blood from different animals in vitro using an established artificial feeding chamber model (Bullard et al, 2016; de Moura et al, 1997; Perner et al, 2016; Stone et al, 1983; Tajeri et al, 2016). This chamber allows ticks to feed on blood in vitro and thus avoids ethical issues and reduces the space and cost typically associated with performing experiments on live animals.…”

Preliminary Study on Artificial versus Animal-Based Feeding Systems for Amblyomma Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)

“…The use of artificial feeding systems for ticks would be ideal to bypass the use of laboratory animals in laboratory experiments. Previously, partial artificial feeding attempts for ticks of the A. cajennense complex were published, however, ticks were not fed until complete engorgement and further development was not observed [ 20 , 22 ]. Here, we describe first successful attempts of using an AFS for the feeding of A. tonelliae adults and compare it to the conventional feeding of this species on experimental animals.…”

“…[ 3 , 8 , 10 ]. Only a few studies exploring attempts of artificial feeding for ticks of the genus Amblyomma are available [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Previously, partial artificial feeding attempts for ticks of the A. cajennense complex were published, however ticks were not fed until complete engorgement and further development was not observed [ 20 , 22 ].…”