Abstract
BackgroundDermanyssus gallinae, or poultry red mite (PRM), is an important ectoparasite in laying hen, having a significant effect on animal welfare and potentially causing economic loss. Testing novel control compounds typically involves in vitro methodologies before in vivo assessments. Historically, in vitro methods have involved PRM feeding on hen blood through a membrane. The use of hen blood requires multiple procedures (bleeds) to provide sufficient material, and the use of a larger species (e.g. goose) could serve as a refinement in the use of animals in research.MethodsThe in vitro feeding device used was that which currently employs a Parafilm™ M membrane (Bartley et al.: Int J Parasitol. 45:819–830, 2015). Adult female PMR were used to investigate any differences in mite feeding, egg laying and mortality when fed goose or hen blood. Effects on these parameters when PRM were fed through either the Parafilm™ M membrane or the Baudruche membrane alone or through a combination of the membrane with an overlaid polyester mesh were tested using goose blood.ResultsPoultry red mites fed equally well on goose or hen blood through the Parafilm™ M membrane, and there were no significant differences in mortality of PRM fed with either blood type. A significant increase (t test: t = 3.467, df = 4, P = 0.03) in the number of eggs laid per fed mite was observed when goose blood was used. A 70% increase in PRM feeding was observed when the mites were fed on goose blood through a Baudruche membrane compared to when they were fed goose blood through the Parafilm™ M membrane. The addition of an overlaid polyester mesh did not improve feeding rates. A significant increase (analysis of variance: F(3, 20) = 3.193, P = 0.04) in PRM egg laying was observed in mites fed on goose blood through the Baudruche membrane compared to those fed goose blood through the Parafilm™ M membrane. A mean of 1.22 (standard error of the mean ± 0.04) eggs per fed mite was obtained using the Baudruche feeding device compared to only 0.87 (SEM ± 0.3) eggs per fed mite using the Parafilm™ M device when neither was combined with a polyester mesh overlay.ConclusionThe in vitro feeding of adult female PRM can be readily facilitated through the use of goose blood in feeding devices with the Baudruche membrane.Graphical
Highlights
Dermanyssus gallinae, or poultry red mite (PRM), is an important ectoparasite in laying hen, having a significant effect on animal welfare and potentially causing economic loss
Comparison of PRM feeding on goose blood through ParafilmTM M, Baudruche membranes and in those membranes overlaid with polyester mesh No statistically significant differences were demonstrated within the same treatment groups in the two repetitions of the experiment in terms of feeding, egg laying, progeny per fed mite or mortality; replicates from the two repetitions of the experiment were combined for further analysis
A 70% increase in the mean number of PRM feeding was observed in mites fed on goose blood through a Baudruche membrane compared to a ParafilmTM M membrane (Fig. 2; Table 2); due to the high levels of variability in the feeding levels of mites feeding through a ParafilmTM M membrane, this increase was not statistically significant (P = 0.1)
Summary
Dermanyssus gallinae, or poultry red mite (PRM), is an important ectoparasite in laying hen, having a significant effect on animal welfare and potentially causing economic loss. The in vitro feeding devices employed in these assays contain the mites, allowing them to feed on hen blood through a membrane, such as day-old chick skin [7, 8], or artificial membranes, such as the ParafilmTM M membrane [9, 10]. This methodology has technical limitations, not least due to the requirement for high numbers of replicates to overcome variable feeding rates when using ParafilmTM M and issues around supply, uniformity and quality when using chick skin [7, 8]. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of goose blood (which can be obtained in far higher volumes per procedure than hen blood) as a higher welfare alternative food source for the assays and goldbeater’s skin ( known as Baudruche membrane) as an alternative feeding membrane that may enable improved feeding of adult female PRM
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
