Optimizing tick artificial membrane feeding for Ixodes scapularis.

ABSTRACT: Artificial membrane feeding (AMF) is a powerful and versatile technique with a wide range of applications in the study of disease vectors species. Since its first description, AMF has been under constant optimization and standardization for different tick species and life stages. In the USA, Ixodes scapularis is the main vector of tick-borne zoonoses including the pathogens causing Lyme disease in humans and animals. Seeking to improve the overall fitness of I. scapularis adult females fed artificially, here, we have optimized the AMF technique, considerably enhancing attachment rate, engorgement success, egg laying, and egg hatching compared to those described in previous studies. Parameters such as the membrane thickness and the light/dark cycle to which the ticks were exposed were refin

SUBMITTER: Garcia Guizzo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10533868 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature