Abstract：
Spiroplasma (Mycoplasmatales: Spiroplasmataceae) is one of the most widely distributed symbionts of arthropods. Spiroplasma species can infect their hosts via vertical or horizontal transmission. However, the mode of transmission of Spiroplasma between different arthropod taxa has not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the potential for the transmission of Spiroplasma to non-native arthropod species, using 2 Spiroplasma spp. isolated from ticks, namely Spiroplasma ixodetis and Spiroplasma mirum, and 3 species of mosquito laboratory colonies, namely Aedes albopictus, Aedes aegypti, and Culex pipiens pallens (Diptera: Culicidae). After feeding the adult mosquitoes with Spiroplasma-containing artificial meals, they were kept at 25 °C for 10 days. Homogenates prepared from Spiroplasma-fed mosquitoes were used to re-isolate Spiroplasma using the in vitro culture method. Nine weeks after culture initiation, the presence of Spiroplasma was tested using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results revealed that only S. ixodetis was detected from all 3 species of mosquitoes and re-isolated from 2 of them. The differences in the infection ability of different Spirolasma species could be attributed to several factors, including environmental effects. Nevertheless, this is the first experimental demonstration of Spiroplasma transmission among different arthropod taxa. Further studies are needed to elucidate the evolutionary mechanism that supports the survival of Spiroplasma in nature.
摘要：
螺旋体（支原体：螺旋体科）是节肢动物中分布最广泛的共生体之一。螺旋体可以通过垂直或水平传播感染其宿主。然而,螺旋体在不同节肢动物类群之间的传播方式尚未阐明。在这项研究中,我们调查了螺旋体向非本地节肢动物物种传播的可能性，使用2螺旋体属。与蜱隔离，也就是异位螺旋体和mirum螺旋体,和3种蚊子实验室殖民地，也就是白纹伊蚊,埃及伊蚊,淡色库蚊（双翅目：Culicidae）。在给成年蚊子喂食含有螺旋体的人工食物后，它们在25°C下保持10天。使用体外培养方法，使用从喂食螺旋体的蚊子制备的匀浆重新分离螺旋体。培养开始后九周，使用聚合酶链反应(PCR)检测螺旋体的存在.结果显示，从所有3种蚊子中仅检测到S.ixodetis，并从其中2种蚊子中重新分离。不同Spirolasma物种的感染能力差异可归因于几个因素，包括环境影响。然而，这是螺旋体在不同节肢动物分类群之间传播的首次实验证明。需要进一步的研究来阐明支持螺旋体在自然界中存活的进化机制。
