Ticks and their associated diseases are an important topic of study due to their public health and veterinary burden. However, the feeding requirements of ticks during both study and rearing can limit experimental questions or the ability of labs to research ticks and their associated pathogens. An artificial membrane feeding system can reduce these problems and open up new avenues of research that may not have been possible with traditional animal feeding systems. This study describes an artificial membrane feeding system that has been refined for feeding and engorgement success for all Ixodes scapularis life stages. Moreover, the artificial membrane feeding system described in this study can be modified for use with other tick species through simple refinement of the desired membrane thickness. The benefits of an artificial membrane feeding system are counterbalanced by the labor intensiveness of the system, the additional environmental factors that may impact feeding success, and the need to refine the technique for each new species and life stage of ticks.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3791/64553 | DOI Listing |
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Marine Ranching, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, 510300, China.
The construction of artificial reefs (ARs) is an effective way to restore habitats and increase and breed fishery resources in marine ranches. However, studies on the impacts of ARs on the structure, function, and assembly patterns of the bacterial community (BC), which is important in biogeochemical cycles, are lacking. The compositions, diversities, assembly patterns, predicted functions, and key environmental factors of the attached and free-living microbial communities in five-year ARs (O-ARs) and one-year ARs (N-ARs) in Fangchenggang, China, were analyzed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
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Department of Pharmacognosy and Biomaterials, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 3 Rokietnicka St., 60-806 Poznan, Poland.
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Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
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Advanced Medical Devices and Composites Laboratory, Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University, Taichung 407, Taiwan.
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