Implementation of the Babesia divergens transmission model: an essential tool to study Babesia-tick molecular interactions

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Jalovecka, Marie | Malandrin, Laurence | Hajdusek, Ondrej | Perner, Jan | Sima, Radek | Kopacek, Petr

Edité par CCSD ; Adnan Menderes University -

International audience. Babesiosis, a zoonosis caused by the apicomplexan protozoa of the genus Babesia, is a tick-borne malaria-like disease of various vertebrate hosts. Despite a growing attention paid to Babesia and babesiosis as an emerging disease in both veterinary and human medicine, the knowledge of interactions of Babesia and tick as a vector is still insufficient. To this end, no research in this area has ever been focused on the transmission model of the most common European species - Babesia divergens and its tick vector Ixodes ricinus. This is particularly due to the absence of a suitable laboratory host that could be used for the infection of tick adult females and hereby simulate a natural transmission cycle of B. divergens. In order to overcome this obstacle, we implemented an artificial feeding technique of I. ricinus females on in vitro culture of B. divergens in bovine red blood cells. The infectious in vitro feeding opens a gate towards detailed investigation of B. divergens development cycle as well as to identification and characterization of molecules playing a role in transmission and persistence of the parasite within the vector. Detailed knowledge of the Babesia life stages in the tick vector together with the knowledge of Babesia transmission mechanisms from the vector to the vertebrate host can significantly contribute to the control of babesiosis in Europe, whether human or bovine.

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