Babesia parasites develop and are transmitted by the non-vector soft tick Ornithodoros moubata (Acari: Argasidae).
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.
Battsetseg
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National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
Matsuo
T
T
Xuan
X
X
Boldbaatar
D
D
Chee
S H
SH
Umemiya
R
R
Sakaguchi
T
T
Hatta
T
T
Zhou
J
J
Verdida
A R
AR
Taylor
D
D
Fujisaki
K
K
D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000635:transmission*; D004064:Digestive System / Q000276:immunology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000469:parasitology; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D009758:Nymph; D026861:Ornithodoros / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000302:isolation & purification
D012335:RNA, Ribosomal