1. Babesia parasites develop and are transmitted by the non-vector soft tick Ornithodoros moubata (Acari: Argasidae).
- Author
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B. BATTSETSEG, T. MATSUO, X. XUAN, D. BOLDBAATAR, S. H. CHEE, R. UMEMIYA, T. SAKAGUCHI, T. HATTA, J. ZHOU, A. R. VERDIDA, D. TAYLOR, and K. FUJISAKI
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ORNITHODOROS moubata , *BABESIA , *PARASITES , *RNA , *TICKS , *INJECTIONS , *BLOOD cells - Abstract
Ornithodoros moubata ticks were fed on blood infected with Babesia equi. However, the parasites were quickly cleared as evidenced by the disappearance of B. equi-specific ribosomal RNA from the ticks. We hypothesized that if the Babesia parasite can escape midgut-associated barriers a non-vector tick can become infected with Babesia. To test this hypothesis, B. equi parasite-infected blood from in vitro culture was injected into the haemocoel of ticks. B. equi-specific rRNA was surprisingly detected 45 days after injection even in the eggs. Babesia-free dogs were infested with O. moubata ticks that were infected by inoculation with B. gibsoni-infected red blood cells. Parasitaemia and antibody production against Bg-TRAP of B. gibsoni increased gradually. These results indicate that O. moubata may be a useful vector model for Babesia parasites and also a very important tool for studies on tick immunity against Babesia parasites and tick-Babesia interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
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