Establishment of complete artificial blood-feeding system on Japanese ticks and application of the established system to analysis of tick blood-feeding mechanism

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K15990
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 42020:Veterinary medical science-related
• Research Institution: Kitasato University (2020-2021); Hokkaido University (2019)
• Principal Investigator: Kusakisako Kodai 北里大学, 獣医学部, 助教 (10838220)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: マダニ / 人工吸血 / 人工膜 / 動物被毛由来マダニ誘引物質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Fundamental research was conducted to establish a complete artificial blood-feeding system on Japanese ticks. First, an artificial blood-feeding system on ticks in overseas, where the system had already been established, was attempted to Japanese ticks, but they did not blood-feed on the system. Therefore, in order to adapt the established artificial blood-feeding system in overseas to Japanese ticks, some artificial membranes were tried to prepare adjust to Japanese ticks and their stimulants which will induce tick blood-feeding behavior were investigated. As a result, producing artificial membranes succeeded that could be adapted to the artificial blood-feeding system for Japanese ticks. In addition, tick stimulants extracted from animal hairs of a laboratory animal, a livestock, and wild animals were examined for their ability to induce blood-feeding behavior of Japanese ticks.

Free Research Field

寄生虫学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

マダニは、すべての発育期で吸血を必要とする偏性吸血性節足動物で、吸血に際して様々な病原体をヒトや動物に伝播し、その健康を脅かし、甚大な被害を及ぼしている。このため、マダニの防圧法の確立は重要な課題である。そこで、マダニの効率的な防圧法を検討するために、マダニと宿主または病原体間の相互関係を個別に解析可能な人工吸血系の確立が重要と考えた。これまでの報告で、日本に存在するマダニ種はチマダニ属マダニが優勢種であり、本マダニの半人工吸血系は開発されたが、完全な人工吸血系はいまだ確立していない。そこで、日本におけるマダニの優勢種であるチマダニ属マダニの完全な人工吸血系を確立のための基盤的な研究を行った。