Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
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| comparative genomics analysis of triatomines reveals common first line and inducible immunity-related genes and the absence of imd canonical components among hemimetabolous arthropods. | insects operate complex humoral and cellular immune strategies to fend against invading microorganisms. the majority of these have been characterized in drosophila and other dipterans. information on hemipterans, including triatominae vectors of chagas disease remains incomplete and fractionated. | 2018 | 29357911 |
| cdna isolation and expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent cytochrome p450 reductase gene in the chagas disease vector triatoma infestans. | pyrethroid resistance has been detected in triatoma infestans (hemiptera: reduviidae), which was atributed to target site insensitivity and increased oxidative metabolism of the insecticide by cytochrome p450s. nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (nadph) cytochrome p450 reductase (cpr) plays an essential role in transferring electrons from nadph to the p450-substrate complex. in this study, the full length cpr cdna of t. infestans was isolated and gene expression was determined by quanti ... | 2018 | 29363459 |
| expression and functional characterization of tachykinin-related peptides in the blood-feeding bug, rhodnius prolixus. | tachykinins (tachykinin-related peptides, trps) are multifunctional neuropeptides that have widespread distribution in the central nervous system (cns) and in the gastrointestinal tract of many insects, and most have been shown to stimulate contractions of visceral muscles. invertebrate trps carry a characteristic conserved c-terminal pentapeptide (fxgxr-amide) and most of them share some amino acid sequence similarities (approx. 45%) with the vertebrate and mammalian tachykinin family. we have ... | 2018 | 29133203 |
| celebrating the sequencing of the rhodnius prolixus genome: a tribute to the memory of vincent b. wigglesworth. | 2018 | 28254111 | |
| octopamine and tyramine regulate the activity of reproductive visceral muscles in the adult female blood-feeding bug, rhodnius prolixus. | the role of octopamine and tyramine in regulating spontaneous contractions of reproductive tissues was examined in the female rhodnius prolixus octopamine decreased the amplitude of spontaneous contractions of the oviducts and reduced rhoprfirfa-induced contractions in a dose-dependent manner, whereas tyramine only reduced the rhoprfirfa-induced contractions. both octopamine and tyramine decreased the frequency of spontaneous bursal contractions and completely abolished the contractions at 5×10- ... | 2017 | 28235907 |
| cloning, localization, and physiological effects of sulfakinin in the kissing bug, rhodnius prolixus. | sulfakinins (sks) are a family of multifunctional neuropeptides that have been shown to have myotropic activity on muscles of the digestive system and to function as feeding satiety factors. here, we confirm via cloning the presence of two sulfakinins (rhopr-sk-1 and rhopr-sk-2) in rhodnius prolixus. reverse transcriptase quantitative pcr demonstrates that the rhopr-sk transcript is highly expressed in the central nervous system (cns) of unfed fifth-instar r. prolixus. fluorescent in situ hybrid ... | 2017 | 28024903 |
| cloning and functional characterization of octβ2-receptor and tyr1-receptor in the chagas disease vector, rhodnius prolixus. | octopamine and tyramine, both biogenic amines, are bioactive chemicals important in diverse physiological processes in invertebrates. in insects, octopamine and tyramine operate analogously to epinephrine and norepinephrine in the vertebrates. octopamine and tyramine bind to g-protein coupled receptors (gpcrs) leading to changes in second messenger levels and thereby modifying the function in target tissues and insect behavior. in this paper, we report the cdna sequences of two gpcrs, rhoproctβ2 ... | 2017 | 29018364 |
| [blood-feeding of rhodnius prolixus]. | triatomines (hemiptera: reduviidae) are blood-sucking insect vectors of the protozoan trypanosoma cruzi which is the causative agent of chagas' disease. rhodnius prolixus is the most epidemiologically important vector of t. cruzi in colombia. triatomines are regarded to be vessel-feeders as they obtain their blood meals from vertebrate hosts by directly inserting their mouthparts into vessels. microscopic techniques are useful for visualizing and describing the morphology of biological structure ... | 2017 | 28968005 |
| comparative 2-d electrophoresis of salivary proteins in triatoma dimidiata and rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera: reduviidae) and major cross-reactive antigens | an immune response to triatomine’s saliva is an immunological marker of exposure to triatomine bites. however, considerable variability in salivary protein profiles did exist among species. in the present work, we compare salivary proteins from mexican triatoma dimidiata and rhodnius prolixus using 2-d electrophoresis. a clear differential saliva profile was found to exist between these two triatomine species. fewer protein spots were detected in r. prolixus than in t. dimidiata. more than half ... | 2017 | 28822204 |
| behavioral evidence of oxidative stress by hematophagy in the ocellar system of rhodnius prolixus stål, 1859 red-eyed mutants. | the photonegative response to light stimulation in rhodnius prolixus (reduviidae, triatominae) is modulated by compound eyes and ocelli. screening pigments in the visual system have been shown to protect the cellular structures from the oxidative stress damage produced by blood ingestion and light stimulation. red-eyed mutants of rhodnius prolixus lack screening pigments in their compound eyes and ocelli and are exposed to more oxidative stress. experiments with rhodnius prolixus and triatoma in ... | 2017 | 28636880 |
| structure and postembryonic development of the intersegmental nodules in the non-muscular joints of the antennae in rhodnius prolixus. | the antennae of insecta consist of two basal segments and the distal annulated flagellum lacking intrinsic muscles. non-muscular joints are important to preserve the flexibility and structure of the long heteropteran antennae which bear an intersegmental nodule on each non-muscular joint. little is known about their properties or function. here we characterize the structure and postembryonic development of the non-muscular joints of rhodnius prolixus antennae. using scanning electron microscopy, ... | 2017 | 27998742 |
| salt controls feeding decisions in a blood-sucking insect. | salts are necessary for maintaining homeostatic conditions within the body of all living organisms. like with all essential nutrients, deficient or excessive ingestion of salts can result in adverse health effects. the taste system is a primary sensory modality that helps animals to make adequate feeding decisions in terms of salt consumption. in this work we show that sodium and potassium chloride salts modulate the feeding behavior of rhodnius prolixus in a concentration-dependent manner. feed ... | 2017 | 27989677 |
| aggregated oviposition in rhodnius prolixus, sensory cues and physiological consequences. | females of the haematophagous bug rhodnius prolixus attach their eggs in clusters on substrates related to their hosts, such as nests or avian feathers. because the hosts are an enormous food resource as well as potential predators, the choice of the site and pattern of oviposition could have an important adaptive value. here we investigated proximate and a potential ultimate cause of this aggregated pattern of laid eggs. first, we studied proximal causes by analyzing the use of chemical or phys ... | 2017 | 27940266 |
| developmental study of the proboscis extension response to heat in rhodnius prolixus along the life cycle. | triatominae are blood-sucking insects that localise their hosts using a range of sensory signals to find food, and among them, the heat emitted by the hosts. heat is one of the main short-range cues in vertebrate hosts, able to trigger alone the proboscis extension response (per) that precedes the bite. previous studies demonstrated that heat responsiveness of fifth-instar nymphs is maximum to moderate temperatures (30-35°c) compatible with those of their vertebrate host's body surface. this stu ... | 2017 | 27890693 |
| metabolism and gas exchange patterns in rhodnius prolixus. | insect's metabolic rate and patterns of gas-exchange varies according to different factors such as: species, activity, mass, and temperature among others. one particular striking pattern of gas-exchange in insects is discontinuous gas-exchange cycles, for which many different hypotheses regarding their evolution have been stated. this article does not pretend to be an extensive review on the subject, rather to focus on the work performed on the haematophagous bug rhodnius prolixus, a model organ ... | 2017 | 27498143 |
| reproductive physiology in the blood feeding insect, rhodnius prolixus, from copulation to the control of egg production. | the study of copulation and the control of egg production in the blood-feeding insect, rhodnius prolixus, continues to offer a fertile ground for the cultivation of new insights into the physiological processes associated with reproduction. we begin this paper by describing the male organs of copulation showing that the aedeagus contains a structure which may serve as part of a pumping mechanism or valve to enable the male to fully pack the vagina with his secretions. we then summarize previousl ... | 2017 | 27286950 |
| genome wide mapping of peptidases in rhodnius prolixus: identification of protease gene duplications, horizontally transferred proteases and analysis of peptidase a1 structures, with considerations on their role in the evolution of hematophagy in triatominae. | triatominae is a subfamily of the order hemiptera whose species are able to feed in the vertebrate blood (i.e., hematophagy). this feeding behavior presents a great physiological challenge to insects, especially in hemipteran species with a digestion performed by lysosomal-like cathepsins instead of the more common trypsin-like enzymes. with the aim of having a deeper understanding of protease involvement in the evolutionary adaptation for hematophagy in hemipterans, we screened peptidases in th ... | 2017 | 29326597 |
| clock gene period in the chagas disease vector triatoma infestans (hemiptera: reduviidae). | to contribute to a better understanding of the molecular bases of the circadian biological rhythms in chagas disease vectors, in this work we identified functional domains in the sequences of the clock protein period (per) in rhodnius prolixus and triatoma infestans and analyzed the expression of the per gene at mrna level in t. infestans. the per protein sequences comparison among these species and those from other insects revealed that the most similar regions are the pas domains and the most ... | 2017 | 29260645 |
| functional aspects of salivary nitric oxide synthase of rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera, reduviidae) and nitric oxide trafficking at the vector-host interface. | rhodnius prolixus expresses nitric oxide synthase (nos) in the cytosol of the salivary gland (sg) cells. the no produced is stored in the sg lumen bound to no-carrier haemeproteins called nitrophorins (nps). nps bind tightly to no in the acidic sg lumen, but release no when the ph becomes high, e.g., at the host skin (ph~7.4). no elicits potent and transient relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. here, we investigated the role of salivary no in the r. prolixus feeding behaviour and the salivary v ... | 2017 | 29167493 |
| bugs battle stress from hot blood. | a heat exchange mechanism in the head of kissing bugs helps to prevent stress and regulate their temperature while they feed on warm blood. | 2017 | 29157360 |
| countercurrent heat exchange and thermoregulation during blood-feeding in kissing bugs. | blood-sucking insects experience thermal stress at each feeding event on endothermic vertebrates. we used thermography to examine how kissing-bugs rhodnius prolixus actively protect themselves from overheating. during feeding, these bugs sequester and dissipate the excess heat in their heads while maintaining an abdominal temperature close to ambient. we employed a functional-morphological approach, combining histology, µct and x-ray-synchrotron imaging to shed light on the way these insects man ... | 2017 | 29157359 |
| nitric oxide contributes to high-salt perception in a blood-sucking insect model. | in all organisms, salts produce either appetitive or aversive responses depending on the concentration. while low-salt concentration in food elicits positive responses to ingest, high-salt triggers aversion. still the mechanisms involved in this dual behavior have just started to be uncovered in some organisms. in rhodnius prolixus, using pharmacological and behavioral assays, we demonstrated that upon high-salt detection in food a nitric oxide (no) dependent cascade is activated. this activatio ... | 2017 | 29138480 |
| evolution and multiple roles of the pancrustacea specific transcription factor zelda in insects. | gene regulatory networks (grns) evolve as a result of the coevolutionary processes acting on transcription factors (tfs) and the cis-regulatory modules they bind. the zinc-finger tf zelda (zld) is essential for the maternal-to-zygotic transition (mzt) in drosophila melanogaster, where it directly binds over thousand cis-regulatory modules to regulate chromatin accessibility. d. melanogaster displays a long germ type of embryonic development, where all segments are simultaneously generated along ... | 2017 | 28671979 |
| chromosome painting in triatomine insects reveals shared sequences between x chromosomes and autosomes. | in order to provide a broad picture on the origin and evolution of holocentric x chromosomes in heteropteran species, we prepared a sex chromosome painting probe by microdissection of the x1 and x2 chromosomes from a kissing bug mepraia spinolai (hemiptera: reduviidae: triatominae). fluorescence in situ hybridization on four species of the triatomini having different amounts of autosomal heterochromatin and sex chromosome systems show that the xs probe hybridizes on the euchromatin, located both ... | 2017 | 28082631 |
| cytogenetic analysis in different populations of rhodnius prolixus and r. nasutus from different countries of south america. | 2017 | 28562785 | |
| genome of russian wheat aphid an economically important cereal aphid. | although the hemipterans (aphididae) are comprised of roughly 50,000 extant insect species, only four have sequenced genomes that are publically available, namely acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid), rhodnius prolixus (kissing bug), myzus persicae (green peach aphid) and diuraphis noxia (russian wheat aphid). as a significant proportion of agricultural pests are phloem feeding aphids, it is crucial for sustained global food security that a greater understanding of the genomic and molecular functioni ... | 2017 | 29299110 |
| [insecticidal action of synthetic girgensohnine analogues and essential oils on rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera: reduviidae)]. | the alkaloid girgensohnine has been used as a natural model in the synthesis of new alkaloid-like alpha-aminonitriles with insecticidal effect against disease vectors. | 2017 | 29161477 |
| the involvement of rhopr-crf/dh in feeding and reproduction in the blood-gorging insect rhodnius prolixus. | rhodnius prolixus is a blood-gorging insect and a vector for human chagas disease. the insect transmits the disease following feeding, when it excretes urine and feces contaminated with the trypanosoma cruzi parasite. a corticotropin-releasing factor-like peptide acts as a diuretic hormone in r. prolixus (rhopr-crf/dh); however, its distribution throughout the insect's central nervous system (cns) and the expression of its receptor in feeding-related tissue as well as the female reproductive sys ... | 2017 | 28694056 |
| catalase expression impairs oxidative stress-mediated signalling in trypanosoma cruzi. | trypanosoma cruzi is exposed to oxidative stresses during its life cycle, and amongst the strategies employed by this parasite to deal with these situations sits a peculiar trypanothione-dependent antioxidant system. remarkably, t. cruzi's antioxidant repertoire does not include catalase. in an attempt to shed light on what are the reasons by which this parasite lacks this enzyme, a t. cruzi cell line stably expressing catalase showed an increased resistance to hydrogen peroxide (h2o2) when comp ... | 2017 | 28653592 |
| proteomic analysis of the kissing bug rhodnius prolixus antenna. | reception of odorants is essential in insects' life since the chemical signals in the environment (=semiochemicals) convey information about availability of hosts for a blood meal, mates for reproduction, sites for oviposition and other relevant information for fitness in the environment. once they reach the antennae, these semiochemicals bind to odorant-binding proteins and are transported through the sensillar lymph until reach the odorant receptors. such perireceptor events, particularly the ... | 2017 | 28606853 |
| jaburetox-induced toxic effects on the hemocytes of rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera: reduviidae). | jaburetox is a recombinant peptide derived from a canavalia ensiformis urease that presents toxic effects upon several species of insects, phytopathogenic fungi and yeasts of medical importance. so far, no toxicity of jaburetox to mammals has been shown. previous reports have identified biochemical targets of this toxic peptide in insect models, although its mechanism of action is not completely understood. in this work, we aimed to characterize the effects of jaburetox in hemolymphatic insect c ... | 2017 | 28602911 |
| [possible oral transmission of chagas disease among hydrocarbons sector workers in casanare, colombia, 2014]. | trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent for chagas disease, can be transmitted by oral intake of contaminated food or drinks. during epidemiological week 14 of 2014, two cases of acute chagas disease were notified among hydrocarbons sector workers in paz de ariporo, casanare. | 2017 | 28527286 |
| [diversity of triatominae (hemiptera: reduviidae) in santander, colombia: epidemiological implications]. | domestic and wild triatomines in the department of santander have an epidemiological impact, as recently they have been linked to outbreaks of acute chagas disease. the analysis of their diversity and temporal variation contributes to the understanding of their biology and ecology in one of the most endemic areas of the country. | 2017 | 28527247 |
| developmental roles of tyrosine metabolism enzymes in the blood-sucking insect rhodnius prolixus. | the phenylalanine/tyrosine degradation pathway is frequently described as a catabolic pathway that funnels aromatic amino acids into citric acid cycle intermediates. previously, we demonstrated that the accumulation of tyrosine generated during the hydrolysis of blood meal proteins in rhodnius prolixus is potentially toxic, a harmful outcome that is prevented by the action of the first two enzymes in the tyrosine degradation pathway. in this work, we further evaluated the relevance of all other ... | 2017 | 28469016 |
| rhodnius prolixus: from classical physiology to modern developmental biology. | the hemiptera rhodnius prolixus is a blood-feeding insect and a primary vector of trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of the chagas disease. over the past century, rhodnius has been the subject of intense investigations, which have contributed to unveil important aspects of metabolism and physiology in insects. recent technological innovations are helping dissect the genetic and molecular underpinnings of rhodnius embryogenesis and organogenesis, thus fostering the use of this important spe ... | 2017 | 28432816 |
| differences in competitive ability for the occupancy of shelters in triatomines. | triatomines (hemiptera: reduviidae: triatominae) are nocturnal blood-sucking insects. during daylight hours they remain in an akinetic state inside their shelters, whereas at dusk they become active and move outside. when they are outside their shelters during the photophase, triatomines are vulnerable to diurnal predators and the period just before dawn is critical to their survival. this work analyses the existence of competitive interactions involved in the occupancy of shelters by triatomine ... | 2017 | 28145576 |
| orcokinin neuropeptides regulate ecdysis in the hemimetabolous insect rhodnius prolixus. | to grow and develop insects must undergo ecdysis. during this process, the individual sheds the old cuticle to emerge as the following developmental stage. during ecdysis, different programed behaviors are regulated by neuropeptidergic pathways. in general, components of these pathways are better characterized in crustacean and holometabolous insects than in hemimetabola. in insects, the orkoninin gene produces two different neuropeptide precursors by alternative splicing: orcokinin a and orcoki ... | 2017 | 28089691 |
| the molecular sensory machinery of a chagas disease vector: expression changes through imaginal moult and sexually dimorphic features. | the triatomine bug rhodnius prolixus is a main vector of chagas disease, which affects several million people, mostly in latin-america. host searching, pheromone communication, and microclimatic preferences are aspects of its behaviour that depend on multimodal sensory inputs. the molecular bases of these sensory processes are largely unknown. the expression levels of genes transcribed in antennae were compared between 5(th) instar larvae, and female and male adults by means of rna-seq. the ante ... | 2017 | 28059141 |
| deficiency of glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 1 decreases triacylglycerol storage and induces fatty acid oxidation in insect fat body. | glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferases (gpat) catalyze the initial and rate-limiting step for the de novo synthesis of triacylglycerol (tag). four mammalian gpat isoforms have been identified: the mitochondria-associated gpat1 and 2, and the endoplasmic reticulum (er)-associated gpat3 and 4. in the insect rhodnius prolixus, a vector of chagas' disease, we previously predicted a mitochondrial-like isoform (rhoprgpat1) from genomic data. in the current study, we clone the rhoprgpat1 coding sequence ... | 2017 | 27956137 |
| genetic relationships and spatial genetic structure among populations of rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera: reduviidae) in colombia and venezuela based on mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences. | one hundred twenty rhodnius prolixus (stal) (hemiptera: reduviidae) specimens from 6 colombian departments and 1 venezuelan state had 594-bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene sequenced to improve the understanding of evolutionary processes that shape the main vector of chagas disease. the levels of genetic diversity for this species were low-medium with reference to other bugs. the genetic heterogeneity among the populations was very limited which means there has been extensive gene flow an ... | 2017 | 27889871 |
| lethal and sublethal effects of essential oil of lippia sidoides (verbenaceae) and monoterpenes on chagas' disease vector rhodnius prolixus. | the aim of this study was to identify the composition of the essential oil from leaves of lippia sidoides (eols), a typical shrub commonly found in the dry northeast of brazil, popularly known as "alecrim-pimenta". additionally, we investigated the nymphicidal, ovicidal, phagoinhibitory and excretion effects of eols, its major constituent thymol and its isomer carvacrol, on fourth instar nymphs and eggs of rhodnius prolixus, the chagas' disease vector. the nymphicidal and ovicidal activity of th ... | 2017 | 27878214 |
| rhodnius prolixus intoxicated. | rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera: reduviidae) is a hematophagous insect native from south america. by the end of the 20th century, it was one of the main vectors of chagas disease in venezuela, colombia, several central american countries and southern mexico. the aim of the present article is to review the literature regarding r. prolixus toxicology. british entomologist vincent b. wigglesworth carried out the first studies on this subject over seventy years ago. a wide bibliographical search allowe ... | 2017 | 27113321 |
| an inside look at the sensory biology of triatomines. | although kissing bugs (triatominae: reduviidae) are perhaps best known as vectors of chagas disease, they are important experimental models in studies of insect sensory physiology, pioneered by the seminal studies of wigglesworth and gillet more than eighty years ago. since then, many investigations have revealed that the thermal, hygric, visual and olfactory senses play critical roles in the orientation of these blood-sucking insects towards hosts. here we review the current knowledge about the ... | 2017 | 27840287 |
| lipid metabolism in rhodnius prolixus: lessons from the genome. | the kissing bug rhodnius prolixus is both an important vector of chagas' disease and an interesting model for investigation into the field of physiology, including lipid metabolism. the publication of this insect genome will bring a huge amount of new molecular biology data to be used in future experiments. although this work represents a promising scenario, a preliminary analysis of the sequence data is necessary to identify and annotate the genes involved in lipid metabolism. here, we used bio ... | 2017 | 27697616 |
| neuropeptides in the regulation of rhodnius prolixus physiology. | in the kissing bug rhodnius prolixus, events such as diuresis, antidiuresis, development and reproduction are triggered by blood feeding. hence, these events can be accurately timed, facilitating physiological experiments. this, combined with its relatively big size, makes r. prolixus an excellent model in insect neuroendocrinological studies. the importance of r. prolixus as a chagas' disease vector as much as an insect model has motivated the sequencing of its genome in recent years, facilitat ... | 2017 | 27210592 |
| [sensitivity of rhodnius prolixus stal bugs to dieldrin, phenthion and malathion]. | 2017 | 4555672 | |
| [relationship between the degree of follicular development in ovaries of newborn female triatomid bugs (rhodnius prolixus) and their feeding in the nymphal stage]. | 2017 | 5392649 | |
| [study of the anatomy of rhodnius prolixus]. | 2017 | 4989071 | |
| [attraction by smell in nymphs and adults of rhodnius prolixus (stal)]. | 2017 | 5679659 | |
| [the effect of blood meal size taken in the nymphal stage on moulting into imago in the triatomid bugs. rhodnius prolixus and triatoma infestans]. | 2017 | 4894411 | |
| [follicular degeneration in triatomid bugs, rhodnius prolixus and triatoma infestans]. | 2017 | 4886734 | |
| [gonotrophic relations in triatomid bugs rhodnius prolixus and triatoma infestans]. | 2017 | 4886727 | |
| [preliminary note on a new neotropic microphymenoptera of the scelionidae family, parasite of eggs of rhodnius prolixus (stal)]. | 2017 | 13731333 | |
| comparative and functional triatomine genomics reveals reductions and expansions in insecticide resistance-related gene families. | triatomine insects are vectors of trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite that is the causative agent of chagas' disease. this is a neglected disease affecting approximately 8 million people in latin america. the existence of diverse pyrethroid resistant populations of at least two species demonstrates the potential of triatomines to develop high levels of insecticide resistance. therefore, the incorporation of strategies for resistance management is a main concern for vector control programs. t ... | 2017 | 28199333 |
| ecology of trypanosoma cruzi i genotypes across rhodnius prolixus captured in attalea butyracea palms. | trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of chagas disease exhibits significant genetic diversity. this parasite is divided into six discrete typing units (dtus) where t. cruzi i (tci) is the most widespread in the americas. tci genotypes have been associated to domestic and sylvatic cycles of transmission (tcidom and sylvatic tci). due to the importance of the enzootic transmission, we determined the frequency of tci genotypes present in rhodnius prolixus captured in different regions of the palm a. butyra ... | 2017 | 28104454 |
| rhodnius prolixus: from physiology by wigglesworth to recent studies of immune system modulation by trypanosoma cruzi and trypanosoma rangeli. | this review is dedicated to the memory of professor sir vincent b. wigglesworth (vw) in recognition of his many pioneering contributions to insect physiology which, even today, form the basis of modern-day research in this field. insects not only make vital contributions to our everyday lives by their roles in pollination, balancing eco-systems and provision of honey and silk products, but they are also outstanding models for studying the pathogenicity of microorganisms and the functioning of in ... | 2017 | 27866813 |
| triatomine physiology in the context of trypanosome infection. | triatomines are hematophagous insects that feed on the blood of vertebrates from different taxa, but can occasionally also take fluids from invertebrate hosts, including other insects. during the blood ingestion process, these insects can acquire diverse parasites that can later be transmitted to susceptible vertebrates if they complete their development inside bugs. trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of chagas disease, and trypanosoma rangeli are protozoan parasites transmitted by triatom ... | 2017 | 27401496 |
| behavioral fever response in rhodnius prolixus (reduviidae: triatominae) to intracoelomic inoculation of trypanosoma cruzi. | behavioral fever is a response to infections with microorganisms observed in some poikilothermic animals. rhodnius prolixus is involved in the transmission of two parasites: trypanosoma cruzi (pathogenic for humans and transmitted in feces) and trypanosoma rangeli (non-pathogenic for humans, pathogenic for rhodnius and transmitted by the bite of an infected individual). only t. rangeli is found in the hemolymph of rhodnius as it travels to the salivary glands. | 2017 | 27598628 |
| jaburetox affects gene expression and enzyme activities in rhodnius prolixus, a chagas' disease vector. | jaburetox, a recombinant peptide of ∼11kda derived from one of the canavalia ensiformis (jack bean) urease isoforms, is toxic and lethal to insects belonging to different orders when administered orally or via injection. previous findings indicated that jaburetox acts on insects in a complex fashion, inhibiting diuresis and the transmembrane potential of malpighian tubules, interfering with muscle contractility and affecting the immune system. in vitro, jaburetox forms ionic channels and alters ... | 2017 | 28108369 |
| description of rhodnius marabaensis sp. n. (hemiptera, reduviidae, triatominae) from pará state, brazil. | rhodnius marabaensissp. n. was collected on 12 may 2014 in the murumurú environmental reserve in the city of marabá, pará state, brazil. this study was based on previous consultation of morphological descriptions of 19 rhodnius species and compared to the identification key for the genus rhodnius. the examination included specimens from 18 rhodnius species held in the brazilian national and international triatomine taxonomy reference laboratory in the oswaldo cruz institute in rio de janeiro, br ... | 2016 | 27833419 |
| transposition burst of mariner-like elements in the sequenced genome of rhodnius prolixus. | transposable elements (tes) are widespread in insect's genomes. however, there are wide differences in the proportion of the total dna content occupied by these repetitive sequences in different species. we have analyzed the tes present in r. prolixus (vector of the chagas disease) and showed that 3.0% of this genome is occupied by class ii tes, belonging mainly to the tc1-mariner superfamily (1.65%) and mites (1.84%). interestingly, most of this genomic content is due to the expansion of two su ... | 2016 | 26363296 |
| identification of a selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase in the blood-sucking insect rhodnius prolixus. | the selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (segpx) is a well-studied enzyme that detoxifies organic and hydrogen peroxides and provides cells or extracellular fluids with a key antioxidant function. the presence of a segpx has not been unequivocally demonstrated in insects. in the present work, we identified the gene and studied the function of a rhodnius prolixus segpx (rpsegpx). the rpsegpx mrna presents the uga codon that encodes the active site selenocysteine (sec) and a corresponding sec ... | 2016 | 26392061 |
| temperature and parasite life-history are important modulators of the outcome of trypanosoma rangeli-rhodnius prolixus interactions. | trypanosoma rangeli is a protozoan parasite, which does not cause disease in humans, although it can produce different levels of pathogenicity to triatomines, their invertebrate hosts. we tested whether infection imposed a temperature-dependent cost on triatomine fitness using t. rangeli with different life histories. parasites cultured only in liver infusion tryptose medium (cultured) and parasites exposed to cyclical passages through mice and triatomines (passaged) were used. we held infected ... | 2016 | 27460893 |
| transcription factors, chromatin proteins and the diversification of hemiptera. | availability of complete genomes provides a means to explore the evolution of enormous developmental, morphological, and behavioral diversity among insects. hemipterans in particular show great diversity of both morphology and life history within a single order. to better understand the role of transcription regulators in the diversification of hemipterans, using sequence profile searches and hidden markov models we computationally analyzed transcription factors (tfs) and chromatin proteins (cps ... | 2016 | 26226651 |
| nitrobindin: an ubiquitous family of all β-barrel heme-proteins. | rhodnius prolixus nitrophorins (rp-nps), arabidopsis thaliana nitrobindin (at-nb), and homo sapiens thap4 (hs-thap4) are the unique known proteins that use a β-barrel fold to bind ferric heme, which is devoted to no transport and/or catalysis. the eight-stranded antiparallel β-barrel rp-nps, which represent the only heme-binding lipocalins, are devoted to deliver no into the blood vessel of the host and to scavenge histamine during blood sucking. regarding nbs, crystallographic data suggest the ... | 2016 | 27080126 |
| glycogen synthase kinase-3 is involved in glycogen metabolism control and embryogenesis of rhodnius prolixus. | rhodnius prolixus is a blood-feeding insect that transmits trypanosoma cruzi and trypanosoma rangeli to vertebrate hosts. rhodnius prolixus is also a classical model in insect physiology, and the recent availability of r. prolixus genome has opened new avenues on triatomine research. glycogen synthase kinase 3 (gsk-3) is classically described as a key enzyme involved in glycogen metabolism, also acting as a downstream component of the wnt pathway during embryogenesis. gsk-3 has been shown to be ... | 2016 | 27574112 |
| functional evaluation of heat shock proteins 70 (hsp70/hsc70) on rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera, reduviidae) physiological responses associated with feeding and starvation. | blood-sucking vectors must overcome thermal stress caused by intake of proportionally large amounts of warm blood from their hosts. in response to this, heat shock proteins (hsps) such as the widely studied hsp70 family (the inducible hsp70 and the cognate form hsc70, known for their role in preserving essential cellular functions) are rapidly up-regulated in their tissues. the triatomine rhodnius prolixus is an important vector of trypanosoma cruzi, the causative pathogen of chagas' disease, an ... | 2016 | 27491440 |
| rhodnius prolixus supergene families of enzymes potentially associated with insecticide resistance. | chagas disease or american trypanosomiasis, is a potentially life-threatening illness caused by the protozoan parasite, trypanosoma cruzi. once known as an endemic health problem of poor rural populations in latin american countries, it has now spread worldwide. the parasite is transmitted by triatomine bugs, of which rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera, reduviidae, triatominae) is one of the vectors and a model organism. this species occurs mainly in central and south american countries where the dise ... | 2016 | 26079630 |
| what is the 'true' effect of trypanosoma rangeli on its triatomine bug vector? | the phrase, "t. rangeli is pathogenic to its insect vector," is commonly found in peer-reviewed publications on the matter, such that it has become the orthodox view of this interaction. in a literature survey, we identified over 20 papers with almost the exact phrase and several others alluding to it. the idea is of particular importance in triatomine population dynamics and the study of vector-borne t. cruzi transmission, as it could mean that triatomines infected with t. rangeli have lower fi ... | 2016 | 27232121 |
| trypanosoma cruzi-trypanosoma rangeli co-infection ameliorates negative effects of single trypanosome infections in experimentally infected rhodnius prolixus. | trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of chagas disease, co-infects its triatomine vector with its sister species trypanosoma rangeli, which shares 60% of its antigens with t. cruzi. additionally, t. rangeli has been observed to be pathogenic in some of its vector species. although t. cruzi-t. rangeli co-infections are common, their effect on the vector has rarely been investigated. therefore, we measured the fitness (survival and reproduction) of triatomine species rhodnius prolixus infected with ... | 2016 | 27174360 |
| comparative proteomic analysis of the saliva of the rhodnius prolixus, triatoma lecticularia and panstrongylus herreri triatomines reveals a high interespecific functional biodiversity. | triatomines are hematophagous arthropods that transmit trypanosoma cruzi and trypanosoma rangeli. feeding behavior and pathogen transmission is known to vary between the different species, and this characteristic is directly or indirectly dependent on the bioactive molecules of the saliva that facilitate the vector-host-parasite interaction. here, we identify, characterize and compare the sialoproteomic (from the greek sialo: saliva) repertoire of important species of the main triatomine genera ... | 2016 | 26940473 |
| here, there, and everywhere: the ubiquitous distribution of the immunosignaling molecule lysophosphatidylcholine and its role on chagas disease. | chagas disease is a severe illness, which can lead to death if the patients are not promptly treated. the disease is caused by the protozoan parasite trypanosoma cruzi, which is mostly transmitted by a triatomine insect vector. there are 8-10 million people infected with t. cruzi in the world, but the transmission of such disease by bugs occurs only in the americas, especially latin america. chronically infected patients will develop cardiac diseases (30%) and up digestive, neurological, or mixe ... | 2016 | 26925065 |
| colonization of rhodnius prolixus gut by trypanosoma cruzi involves an extensive parasite killing. | trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of chagas disease, is ingested by triatomines during their bloodmeal on an infected mammal. aiming to investigate the development and differentiation of t. cruzi inside the intestinal tract of rhodnius prolixus at the beginning of infection we fed insects with cultured epimastigotes and blood trypomastigotes from infected mice to determine the amount of recovered parasites after ingestion. approximately 20% of the ingested parasites was found in the insec ... | 2016 | 26818093 |
| genotyping of trypanosoma cruzi dtus and trypanosoma rangeli genetic groups in experimentally infected rhodnius prolixus by pcr-rflp. | the specific detection and genetic typing of trypanosomes that infect humans, mammalian reservoirs, and vectors is crucial for diagnosis and epidemiology. we utilized a pcr-rflp assay that targeted subunit ii of cytochrome oxidase and 24sα-rdna to simultaneously detect and discriminate six trypanosoma cruzi discrete typing units (dtus) and two genetic groups of trypanosoma rangeli (kp1+/kp1-) in intestinal contents of experimentally infected rhodnius prolixus. the pcr assays showed that in 23 of ... | 2016 | 26792202 |
| human trypanosomiasis in the eastern plains of colombia: new transmission scenario. | characteristics of trypanosoma cruzi infection were studied in a rural area of the eastern plains of colombia. using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect fluorescent-antibody tests, the infection was determined in 11.6% of the inhabitants of 142 dwellings. during 6 months of community surveillance, in 42.3% dwellings, 609 triatomines were collected (597 rhodnius prolixus and seven, three, one, and one of panstrongylus geniculatus, psammolestes arturi, eratyrus mucronatus, and triatoma ... | 2016 | 26728765 |
| [strategy for determining a baseline in areas of vector interruption for chagas disease]. | objectives present a strategy to determine the baseline in endemic areas in the process of vector interruption for chagas disease (chd). methods a social and environmental questionnaire and an entomological survey evaluated the physical conditions of dwellings, the inhabitants' knowledge of chd, the entomological triatomine indicators and the statistical relationship among these variables. results colonization and natural infection with trypanosoma cruzi exist in rhodnius prolixus, the principal ... | 2016 | 27706434 |
| humoral and cellular immune responses induced by the urease-derived peptide jaburetox in the model organism rhodnius prolixus. | although the entomotoxicity of plant ureases has been reported almost 20 years ago, their insecticidal mechanism of action is still not well understood. jaburetox is a recombinant peptide derived from one of the isoforms of canavalia ensiformis (jack bean) urease that presents biotechnological interest since it is toxic to insects of different orders. previous studies of our group using the chagas disease vector and model insect rhodnius prolixus showed that the treatment with jack bean urease ( ... | 2016 | 27455853 |
| triatomine bugs, their microbiota and trypanosoma cruzi: asymmetric responses of bacteria to an infected blood meal. | triatomine bugs (hemiptera: reduviidae) are vectors of the flagellate trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of chagas disease. the study of triatomine gut microbiota has gained relevance in the last years due to its possible role in vector competence and prospective use in control strategies. the objective of this study is to examine changes in the gut microbiota composition of triatomines in response to a t. cruzi-infected blood meal and identifying key factors determining those changes. | 2016 | 27938415 |
| untangling the transmission dynamics of primary and secondary vectors of trypanosoma cruzi in colombia: parasite infection, feeding sources and discrete typing units. | trypanosoma cruzi is the causative agent of chagas disease. due to its genetic diversity has been classified into six discrete typing units (dtus) in association with transmission cycles. in colombia, natural t. cruzi infection has been detected in 15 triatomine species. there is scarce information regarding the infection rates, dtus and feeding preferences of secondary vectors. therefore, the aim of this study was to determine t. cruzi infection rates, parasite dtu, ecotopes, insect stages, geo ... | 2016 | 27903288 |
| long-chain acyl-coa synthetase 2 knockdown leads to decreased fatty acid oxidation in fat body and reduced reproductive capacity in the insect rhodnius prolixus. | long-chain acyl-coa esters are important intermediates in lipid metabolism and are synthesized from fatty acids by long-chain acyl-coa synthetases (acsl). the hematophagous insect rhodnius prolixus, a vector of chagas' disease, produces glycerolipids in the midgut after a blood meal, which are stored as triacylglycerol in the fat body and eggs. we identified twenty acyl-coa synthetase genes in r. prolixus, two encoding acsl isoforms (rhopracsl1 and rhopracsl2). rhopracsl1 transcripts increased i ... | 2016 | 27091636 |
| the acbp gene family in rhodnius prolixus: expression, characterization and function of rpacbp-1. | the acyl-coa-binding proteins (acbp) constitute a family of conserved proteins that bind acyl-coa with high affinity and protect it from hydrolysis. thus, acbps may have essential roles in basal cellular lipid metabolism. the genome of the insect rhodnius prolixus encodes five acbp genes similar to those described for other insect species. the qpcr analysis revealed that these genes have characteristic expression profiles in insect organs, suggesting that they have specific roles in insect physi ... | 2016 | 27001070 |
| experimental infection of rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera, triatominae) with mycobacterium leprae indicates potential for leprosy transmission. | leprosy is a chronic dermato-neurological disease caused by infection with mycobacterium leprae. in 2013 almost 200,000 new cases of leprosy were detected around the world. since the first symptoms take from years to decades to appear, the total number of asymptomatic patients is impossible to predict. although leprosy is one of the oldest records of human disease, the mechanisms involved with its transmission and epidemiology are still not completely understood. in the present work, we experime ... | 2016 | 27203082 |
| under-expression of chemosensory genes in domiciliary bugs of the chagas disease vector triatoma brasiliensis. | in latin america, the bloodsucking bugs triatominae are vectors of trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes chagas disease. chemical elimination programs have been launched to control chagas disease vectors. however, the disease persists because native vectors from sylvatic habitats are able to (re)colonize houses-a process called domiciliation. triatoma brasiliensis is one example. because the chemosensory system allows insects to interact with their environment and plays a key role in insec ... | 2016 | 27792774 |
| identification and characterization of the corazonin receptor and possible physiological roles of the corazonin-signaling pathway in rhodnius prolixus. | neuropeptides control many physiological and endocrinological processes in animals, acting as neuroactive chemicals within the central and peripheral nervous systems. corazonin (crz) is one such neuropeptide that has a variety of physiological roles associated with control of heartbeat, ecdysis behavior initiation, and cuticle coloration. these physiological effects are mediated by the crz receptor (crzr). in order to understand the role of the crz-signaling pathway in rhodnius prolixus, the cdn ... | 2016 | 27536213 |
| structure and ligand-binding mechanism of a cysteinyl leukotriene-binding protein from a blood-feeding disease vector. | blood-feeding disease vectors mitigate the negative effects of hemostasis and inflammation through the binding of small-molecule agonists of these processes by salivary proteins. in this study, a lipocalin protein family member (ltbp1) from the saliva of rhodnius prolixus, a vector of the pathogen trypanosoma cruzi, is shown to sequester cysteinyl leukotrienes during feeding to inhibit immediate inflammatory responses. calorimetric binding experiments showed that ltbp1 binds leukotrienes c4 (ltc ... | 2016 | 27124118 |
| everybody loves sugar: first report of plant feeding in triatomines. | triatomines, which are the vectors of trypanosoma cruzi, have been considered to be exclusive blood feeders for more than 100 years, since the discovery of chagas disease. | 2016 | 26928036 |
| effect of the saliva from different triatomine species on the biology and immunity of tlr-4 ligand and trypanosoma cruzi-stimulated dendritic cells. | triatomines are blood-sucking vectors of trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of chagas disease. during feeding, triatomines surpass the skin host response through biomolecules present in their saliva. dendritic cells (dcs) play a crucial role in the induction of the protection to aggressive agents, including blood-sucking arthropods. here, we evaluated if salivary components of triatomines from different genera evade the host immunity by modulating the biology and the function of lps- or t. c ... | 2016 | 27938380 |
| impact of trypanosoma cruzi on antimicrobial peptide gene expression and activity in the fat body and midgut of rhodnius prolixus. | rhodnius prolixus is a major vector of trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of chagas disease in latin america. in natural habitats, these insects are in contact with a variety of bacteria, fungi, virus and parasites that they acquire from both their environments and the blood of their hosts. microorganism ingestion may trigger the synthesis of humoral immune factors, including antimicrobial peptides (amps). the objective of this study was to compare the expression levels of amps (defensins an ... | 2016 | 26931761 |
| rhodnius prolixus and r. robustus (hemiptera: reduviidae) nymphs show different locomotor patterns on an automated recording system. | circadian rhythms of triatomines, vectors of the etiological agent trypanosoma cruzi responsible for chagas disease, have been extensively studied in adults of the two most epidemiologically relevant vector species, rhodnius prolixus and triatoma infestans. however, little attention has been dedicated to the activity patterns in earlier developmental stages, even though triatomine nymphs are equally capable of transmitting t. cruzi to humans. because circadian rhythms may differ even between clo ... | 2016 | 27121502 |
| amino acids trigger down-regulation of superoxide via torc pathway in the midgut of rhodnius prolixus. | sensing incoming nutrients is an important and critical event for intestinal cells to sustain life of the whole organism. the torc is a major protein complex involved in monitoring the nutritional status and is activated by elevated amino acid concentrations. an important feature of haematophagy is that huge amounts of blood are ingested in a single meal, which results in the release of large quantities of amino acids, together with the haemoglobin prosthetic group, haem, which decomposes hydrop ... | 2016 | 26945025 |
| screening of fungi for biological control of a triatomine vector of chagas disease: temperature and trypanosome infection as factors. | entomopathogenic fungi have been investigated as an alternative tool for controlling various insects, including triatomine vectors of the protozoan trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of chagas disease. here we tested the pathogenicity and virulence of ten isolates of the fungi metarhizium spp. and beauveria bassiana against rhodnius prolixus and found all of the isolates to be virulent. we used two isolates (urpe-11 metarhizium anisopliae and ent-1 beauveria bassiana) for further screening ... | 2016 | 27855217 |
| first report of y-linked genes in the kissing bug rhodnius prolixus. | due to an abundance of repetitive dna, the annotation of heterochromatic regions of the genome such as the y chromosome is problematic. the y chromosome is involved in key biological functions such as male-fertility and sex-determination and hence, accurate identification of its sequences is vital. the hemipteran insect rhodnius prolixus is an important vector of chagas disease, a trypanosomiasis affecting 6-7 million people worldwide. here we report the identification of the first y-linked gene ... | 2016 | 26861771 |
| [structure of the female reproductive system of triatomid bugs, rhodnius prolixus and triatoma infestans, and determination of their physiological age]. | 2016 | 4885880 | |
| ecdysis period of rhodnius prolixus head investigated using phase contrast synchrotron microtomography. | microtomography using synchrotron sources is a useful tool in biological imaging research since the phase coherence of synchrotron beams can be exploited to obtain images with high contrast resolution. this work is part of a series of works using phase contrast synchrotron microtomography in the study of rhodnius prolixus head, the insect vector of chagas' disease, responsible for about 12,000 deaths per year. the control of insect vector is the most efficient method to prevent this disease and ... | 2016 | 27184550 |
| comparing de novo and reference-based transcriptome assembly strategies by applying them to the blood-sucking bug rhodnius prolixus. | high throughput sequencing capabilities have made the process of assembling a transcriptome easier, whether or not there is a reference genome. but the quality of a transcriptome assembly must be good enough to capture the most comprehensive catalog of transcripts and their variations, and to carry out further experiments on transcriptomics. there is currently no consensus on which of the many sequencing technologies and assembly tools are the most effective. many non-model organisms lack a refe ... | 2016 | 26005117 |
| patterns of expression of odorant receptor genes in a chagas disease vector. | rhodnius prolixus is a triatomine bug acting as a relevant vector of chagas disease for which the genome sequence has been recently made available. based on this information, a set of olfactory (ors) and ionotropic receptor (irs) genes potentially related to olfactory processes was characterized, and the expression patterns along bug development and in different structures potentially involved in promoting chemosensory-mediated behaviors were studied. for this, diverse bioinformatic procedures w ... | 2016 | 26003917 |
| identification of g protein coupled receptors for opsines and neurohormones in rhodnius prolixus. genomic and transcriptomic analysis. | the importance of chagas disease motivated the scientific effort to obtain the complete genomic sequence of the vector species rhodnius prolixus, this information is also relevant to the understanding of triatomine biology in general. the central nervous system is the key regulator of insect physiology and behavior. neurohormones (neuropeptides and biogenic amines) are the chemical messengers involved in the regulation and integration of neuroendocrine signals. in insects, this signaling is main ... | 2016 | 25976540 |
| chitin is a component of the rhodnius prolixus midgut. | chitin is an essential component of the peritrophic matrix (pm), which is a structure that lines the insect's gut and protects against mechanical damage and pathogens. rhodnius prolixus (hemiptera: reduviidae) does not have a pm, but it has an analogous structure, the perimicrovillar membrane (pmm); chitin has not been described in this structure. here, we show that chitin is present in the r. prolixus midgut using several techniques. the ftir spectrum of the koh-resistant putative chitin-materi ... | 2016 | 25910679 |
| correction for mesquita et al., genome of rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of chagas disease, reveals unique adaptations to hematophagy and parasite infection. | 2016 | 26929356 | |
| symbiont-mediated rna interference in insects. | rna interference (rnai) methods for insects are often limited by problems with double-stranded (ds) rna delivery, which restricts reverse genetics studies and the development of rnai-based biocides. we therefore delegated to insect symbiotic bacteria the task of: (i) constitutive dsrna synthesis and (ii) trauma-free delivery. rnaseiii-deficient, dsrna-expressing bacterial strains were created from the symbionts of two very diverse pest species: a long-lived blood-sucking bug, rhodnius prolixus, ... | 2016 | 26911963 |