title: Laboratory life cycle of Ornithodoros brasiliensis (Acari: Argasidae): An endemic tick from southern Brazil.
abstract: Aragão is an endemic tick restricted to the highlands of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. This species is very aggressive toward humans, causing fever, great pain and intense inflammatory response at the bite site. It is also very aggressive toward dogs, and tick toxicosis syndrome has been reported in this host. In order to elucidate the biology of this tick, the present study describes its life cycle under laboratory conditions, using guinea pigs as hosts for two generations. In the nonparasitic phase, the ticks were maintained in sand, in an incubator under controlled conditions. The larvae molted to the nymphal stage without feeding, and five nymphal stages (N1, N2, N3, N4 and N5) were observed in both generations. In both generations emergence of adults started from N3 when sex ratio was 0.85:1 (23 males and 27 females) in F1 and 0.63:1 (34 males and 54 females) in F2. For both generations, N4 generated more females, while N5 only produced females. The pre-ecdysis period of the nymphs ranged from 31.1 to 38.6 days. Two gonotrophic cycles were observed, and the first one presented a higher average number of eggs deposited (N=139) than the second (N=73.8). The mean duration of the life cycle (egg to egg) of O. brasiliensis was 215.4 days for the first generation and 195 days for the second.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: diego.ramirez@butantan.gov.br.
authors.forename: Diego Garcia
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Department of Animal Parasitology, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address: gabriel.landulfo@butantan.gov.br.
authors.forename: Gabriel Alves
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Landulfo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Postgraduate Course in Veterinary Medicine, Universidade de Santo Amaro, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: valeria.onofrio@butantan.gov.br.
authors.forename: Valeria Castilho
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Onofrio
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: simone.simons@butantan.gov.br.
authors.forename: Simone Michaela
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Simons
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Desidério Finamor Veterinary Research Institute (IPVDF), Fundação Estadual de Pesquisa Agropecuária (FEPAGRO), Eldorado do Sul, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: jose.reck@gmail.com.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reck
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Desidério Finamor Veterinary Research Institute (IPVDF), Fundação Estadual de Pesquisa Agropecuária (FEPAGRO), Eldorado do Sul, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: parasito.ipvdf@gmail.com.
authors.forename: João Ricardo
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: labruna@usp.br.
authors.forename: Marcelo Bahia
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Labruna
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: darci.battesti@butantan.gov.br.
authors.forename: Darci Moraes
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Barros-Battesti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007753:Laboratories; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008297:Male; D026861:Ornithodoros / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Laboratory; Life cycle; Ornithodoros brasiliensis; Soft tick