Development of mass rearing technique of Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acari: Acaridae) found in house dust.

A storage mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, is recently known to be widely distributed in Korea, being commonly found in house dust, and may, therefore, be allergenically important. The purpose of this study was to develop mass rearing techniques for supplying a large quantity of allergens. The laboratory mouse food powder gave the highest yield, showing 1,251.5-fold increase in number after 10 weeks, and the mixed powder of laboratory mouse food and yeast (1:1) also gave same level of the production (1,203.1-fold increase in week 10). Several different combinations of temperature and relative humidity conditions were compared, and the maximum propagation was obtained at 25 degrees C and 64% RH, showing 960-fold increase in number. When the same amount of culture media was used, the size of the culture container did not significantly influence the quantitative yield of T. putrescentiae mites.