Investigation of vertical and horizontal transmission of Spiroplasma in ticks under laboratory conditions

Autor: Shohei Ogata, Rika Umemiya-Shirafuji, Kodai Kusakisako, Keita Kakisaka, Elisha Chatanga, Naoki Hayashi, Yurie Taya, Yuma Ohari, Gita Sadaula Pandey, Abdelbaset Eweda Abdelbaset, Yongjin Qiu, Keita Matsuno, Nariaki Nonaka, Ryo Nakao
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39128-z
Popis: Abstract Many arthropods harbour bacterial symbionts, which are maintained by vertical and/or horizontal transmission. Spiroplasma is one of the most well-known symbionts of ticks and other arthropods. It is still unclear how Spiroplasma infections have spread in tick populations despite its high prevalence in some tick species. In this study, Ixodes ovatus, which has been reported to harbour Spiroplasma ixodetis at high frequencies, was examined for its vertical transmission potential under experimental conditions. Next, two isolates of tick-derived Spiroplasma, S. ixodetis and Spiroplasma mirum, were experimentally inoculated into Spiroplasma-free Haemaphysalis longicornis colonies and the presence of Spiroplasma in their eggs and larvae was tested. Our experimental data confirmed that S. ixodetis was transmitted to eggs and larvae in a vertical manner in the original host I. ovatus. In the second experiment, there was no significant difference in engorged weight, egg weight, and hatching rate between Spiroplasma-inoculated and control H. longicornis groups. This suggested that Spiroplasma infection does not affect tick reproduction. Spiroplasma DNA was only detected in the eggs and larvae derived from some individuals of S. ixodetis-inoculated groups. This has demonstrated the potential of horizontal transmission between different tick species. These findings may help understand the transmission dynamics of Spiroplasma in nature and its adaptation mechanism to host arthropod species.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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