The ecotopes and evolution of triatomine bugs (triatominae) and their associated trypanosomes

Triatomine bug species such as Microtriatoma trinidadensis, Eratyrus mucronatus, Belminus herreri, Panstrongylus lignarius, and Triatoma tibiamaculata are exquisitely adapted to specialist niches. This suggests a long evolutionary history, as well as the recent dramatic spread a few eclectic, domiciliated triatomine species. Virtually all species of the genus Rhodnius are primarily associated with palms. The genus Panstrongylus is predominantly associated with burrows and tree cavities and the genus Triatoma with terrestrial rocky habitats or rodent burrows. Two major sub-divisions have been defined within the species Trypanosoma cruzi, as T. cruzi 1 (Z1) and T. cruzi 2 (Z2). The affinities of a third group (Z3) are uncertain. Host and habitat associations lead us to propose that T. cruzi 1 (Z1) has evolved in an arboreal, palm tree habitat with the triatomine tribe Rhodniini, in association with the opossum Didelphis. Similarly we propose that T. cruzi (Z2) and Z3 evolved in a terrestrial habitat in burrows and in rocky locations with the triatomine tribe Triatomini, in association with edentates, and/or possibly ground dwelling marsupials. Both sub-divisions of T. cruzi may have been contemporary in South America up to 65 million years ago. Alternatively, T. cruzi 2 (Z2) may have evolved more recently from T. cruzi 1 (Z1) by host transfers into rodents, edentates, and primates. We have constructed a molecular phylogeny of haematophagous vectors, including triatomine bugs, which suggests that faecal transmission of trypanosomes may be the ancestral route. A molecular clock phylogeny suggests that Rhodnius and Triatoma diverged before the arrival, about 40 million years ago, of bats and rodents into South America.

Some Streblidae and Nycteribiidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) from Maracá Island, Roraima, Brazil

Fourteen species in five genera of Streblidae and two species in two genera of Nycteribiidae, collected in Maracá Island, State of Roraima, Brazil are presented with comments on bat hosts and geographical distribution. A total of 42 specimens of Diptera and 17 bats were captured from 1987 to 1988, integrating the "Maracá Project". All species of ectoparasites represent new geographic records for Roraima.

Isolation and molecular identification of Leishmania chagasi from a bat (Carollia perspicillata) in northeastern Venezuela

This report describes the isolation of a Leishmania chagasi strain from a bat (Carollia perspicillata), and its identification using biological methods and molecular characterization. The parasites were isolated in an artificial culture medium from a blood sample extracted from a bat heart. The isolate was then inoculated into the footpads of Balb/c mice, which subsequently developed a typical nodular leishmanial lesion; the parasites were confirmed as Leishmania by smear and histopathology. Molecular characterization of the parasites was performed by polymerase chain reaction with species-specific primers, kDNA restriction pattern following Hae III endonuclease digestion and dot blot hybridization using a kDNA probe. This report demonstrates that bats can be hosts for L. chagasi species and suggests the need for studies to determine whether they may be involved in foci of visceral leishmaniasis.

Pneumocystis diversity as a phylogeographic tool

Parasites are increasingly used to complement the evolutionary and ecological adaptation history of their hosts. Pneumocystis pathogenic fungi, which are transmitted from host-to-host via an airborne route, have been shown to constitute genuine host markers of evolution. These parasites can also provide valuable information about their host ecology. Here, we suggest that parasites can be used as phylogeographic markers to understand the geographical distribution of intra-specific host genetic variants. To test our hypothesis, we characterised Pneumocystis isolates from wild bats living in different areas. Bats comprise a wide variety of species; some of them are able to migrate. Thus, bat chorology and migration behaviour can be approached using Pneumocystis as phylogeographic markers. In the present work, we find that the genetic polymorphisms of bat-derived Pneumocystis are structured by host chorology. Therefore, Pneumocystis intra-specific genetic diversity may constitute a useful and relevant phylogeographic tool.

Bat flies on phyllostomid hosts in the Cerrado region: component community, prevalence and intensity of parasitism

Streblidae flies are specialised parasites of bat hosts, mainly phyllostomids. There is a high richness of streblids in the savannah-like Cerrado region; however, there is little quantitative data available in parasitological indices. Here, we describe the component community, prevalence and intensity of a streblid infestation on a phyllostomid bat assemblage in Serra da Bodoquena, a Cerrado region in Southwest Brazil. We conducted surveys by capturing and inspecting bat hosts during the seven-month period between October 2004-December 2005. All the ectoparasites found on the bats were collected in the field and then counted and identified in the laboratory. We captured 327 bats belonging to 13 species, of which eight species were parasitized by 17 species of streblids. Carollia perspicillata and Glossophaga soricina were infested with seven streblid species, whereas the other bat species were infested with four or fewer streblid species. Megistopoda proxima and Aspidoptera falcata flies were found on Sturnira lilium, and Trichobius joblingi was the most prevalent fly on C. perspicillata. Megistopoda aranea and Aspidoptera phyllostomatis were highly prevalent and had a high intensity of infestation on Artibeus planirostris. Overall comparisons of the available data suggest that the component communities of streblids vary more between the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest phytogeographical regions than between localities within the same phytogeographical region.

Ecology of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sinai: linking parasites, vectors and hosts

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected clinical form of public health importance that is quite prevalent in the northern and eastern parts of Egypt. A comprehensive study over seven years (January 2005-December 2011) was conducted to track CL transmission with respect to both sandfly vectors and animal reservoirs. The study identified six sandfly species collected from different districts in North Sinai: Phlebotomus papatasi, Phlebotomus kazeruni, Phlebotomus sergenti, Phlebotomus alexandri, Sergentomyia antennata and Sergentomyia clydei. Leishmania (-)-like flagellates were identified in 15 P. papatasi individuals (0.5% of 3,008 dissected females). Rodent populations were sampled in the same districts where sandflies were collected and eight species were identified: Rattus norvegicus (n = 39), Rattus rattus frugivorous (n = 13), Rattus rattus alexandrinus (n = 4), Gerbillus pyramidum floweri (n = 38), Gerbillus andersoni (n = 28), Mus musculus (n = 5), Meriones sacramenti (n = 22) and Meriones crassus (n = 10). Thirty-two rodents were found to be positive for Leishmania infection (20.12% of 159 examined rodents). Only Leishmania major was isolated and identified in 100% of the parasite samples. The diversity of both the vector and rodent populations was examined using diversity indices and clustering approaches.

Records of Myodopsylla wolffsohni wolffsohni (Rothschild, 1903) (Siphonaptera, Ischnopsyllidae) on Myotis nigricans Schinz, 1821 (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), from the State of Paraná, Southern Brazil

The flea, Myodopsylla wolffsohni wolffsohni (Rothschild, 1903), had been recorded for the first time in the State of Paraná in 1940, on the bat, Myotis levis (I. Geoffroy, 1824). Previously, this species of flea had only been recorded on Myotis nigricans, in the Amazonian region. This is the second record of M. w. wolffsohni on M. nigricans in Brazil, and the first in the State of Paraná. Although this flea has been found on undetermined Chiroptera in the State of Santa Catarina, the present record represents the meridional limit of geographic distribution for the infestation on M. nigricans.

Fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae) and their parasitoids on cultivated and wild hosts in the Cerrado-Pantanal ecotone in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae) and their parasitoids on cultivated and wild hosts in the Cerrado-Pantanal ecotone in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Information on frugivorous flies in cultivated or wild host plants and their parasitoids in the Cerrado-Pantanal ecotone in Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul is presented and discussed. Fruit fly samples were collected weekly in specific fruit trees, and McPhail® traps were installed in the same trees for a period of two years. The fruit flies infested ripe and unripe fruits of Averrhoa carambola L., Schoepfia sp., Psidium guajava L. and Pouteria torta (Mart.) Radlk and mature fruits of Anacardium occidentale L. and Inga laurina (Sw.) Willd. Nineteen fruit fly species were obtained with the combination of sampling methods (collecting fruits and trapping), nine of them obtained with both methods, five found only in fruits and five only in traps. This is the first record of Anastrepha striata Schiner in a species of Sapotaceae, as well as for A. castanea Norrbom and A. daciformes Bezzi in Schoepfia sp. (Olacaceae), and for A. distincta Greene in fruits of P. guajava in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Fruit collections simultaneously associated with capture of fruit flies by McPhail traps in the same host plants are essential to understand the diversity of fruit flies and their relationship with hosts and parasitoids. Species of Braconidae and Pteromalidae were recovered, where Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti) was the most abundant parasitoid in larvae of tephritids infesting both cultivated and wild host fruits.

Two new species of Mycodrosophila (Diptera, Drosophilidae) proposed by molecular and morphological approaches, with a key to American species

ABSTRACT There are approximately 130 species of MycodrosophilaOldenberg, 1914 worldwide, although only nine species were recorded in American countries so far, three of which are exclusively Nearctic, five exclusively Neotropical and one found in both biogeographic regions (Mycodrosophila projectans). Such a small number of American species is likely a consequence of collecting bias, which favors the capture of frugivorous drosophilids, and to the general absence of Neotropical Mycodrosophila studies in the last 50 years. Here, we describe two commonly sampled species of Mycodrosophila from the Amazonian and Pampa Brazilian biomes, which share morphological similarities with Mycodrosophila neoprojectans and M. projectans, respectively. We compared sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), external morphology characteristics and male terminalia among these species. Based on a DNA barcoding approach coupled to morphological differences, we proposed the delimitation of two new species, Mycodrosophila hofmanni sp. nov. and Mycodrosophila valentae sp. nov. An updated key to identifying Neotropical and Nearctic Mycodrosophila species is also provided.

Biheterocyclic ligands: synthesis, characterization and coordinating properties of bis(4-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl) alkanes with transition metal ions and their thermokinetic and biological studies

The Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) metal ions complexes of Bis(4-amino-5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl) alkanes (BATs) have been prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity measurements infrared, magnetic susceptibility, the electronic spectral data and thermal studies. Based on spectral and magnetic results, the ligands are tetradentate coordinating through the N and S-atoms of BATs; six-coordinated octahedral or distorted octahedral and some times four-coordinated square planar were proposed for these complexes. Activation energies computed for the thermal decomposition steps were compared. The ligands and their metal complexes were tested in vitro for their biological effects. Their activities against two gram-positive, two gram-negative bacteria and two fungal species were found to vary from moderate to very strong.

Reproductive ecology of the exotic tree Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae) in southeastern Brazil

The exotic tree Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae), a species native to Central America, is used as fish feed and fiber and cellulose production in Brazil. This study was carried out in urban areas and verified the reproductive biology of this plant species. Flower and fruit morphology, compatibility system, reproductive phenology, pollination and frugivore animals, and germination of disseminated seeds were recorded by standard field and laboratory procedures. This tree is self-compatible and autonomously self-pollinated, with its flowers being mainly visited by bees and its fruits consumed by birds and bats. Germination of its dispersed seeds is fast and occurs at a high rate. The results of this work suggest that M. calabura is very adaptable to cultivated areas,thus being an excellent choice for urban reforestation. However, its reproductive characteristics place this plant as an invasive species with significant potential in southeastern Brazil.

Biochemical adaptations of mammalian hibernation: exploring squirrels as a perspective model for naturally induced reversible insulin resistance

An important disease among human metabolic disorders is type 2 diabetes mellitus. This disorder involves multiple physiological defects that result from high blood glucose content and eventually lead to the onset of insulin resistance. The combination of insulin resistance, increased glucose production, and decreased insulin secretion creates a diabetic metabolic environment that leads to a lifetime of management. Appropriate models are critical for the success of research. As such, a unique model providing insight into the mechanisms of reversible insulin resistance is mammalian hibernation. Hibernators, such as ground squirrels and bats, are excellent examples of animals exhibiting reversible insulin resistance, for which a rapid increase in body weight is required prior to entry into dormancy. Hibernator studies have shown differential regulation of specific molecular pathways involved in reversible resistance to insulin. The present review focuses on this growing area of research and the molecular mechanisms that regulate glucose homeostasis, and explores the roles of the Akt signaling pathway during hibernation. Here, we propose a link between hibernation, a well-documented response to periods of environmental stress, and reversible insulin resistance, potentially facilitated by key alterations in the Akt signaling network, PPAR-γ/PGC-1α regulation, and non-coding RNA expression. Coincidentally, many of the same pathways are frequently found to be dysregulated during insulin resistance in human type 2 diabetes. Hence, the molecular networks that may regulate reversible insulin resistance in hibernating mammals represent a novel approach by providing insight into medical treatment of insulin resistance in humans.