The Physiology of Sperm Transfer and Egg Production in Vectors of Chagas Disease with Particular Reference to Rhodnius prolixus

2021 ◽  
pp. 285-305
Author(s):  
R. Gary Chiang ◽  
Jennifer A. Chiang
Keyword(s):  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Sperm Transfer

scholarly journals What happens after a blood meal? A transcriptome response from the main tissues involved in egg production in Rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of Chagas disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimena Leyria ◽  
Ian Orchard ◽  
Angela B. Lange
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Insect Vector ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Epidemiological Impact

AbstractThe blood-sucking hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus is a vector of Chagas disease, one of the most neglected tropical diseases affecting several million people, mostly in Latin America. The blood meal is an event with a high epidemiological impact since in adult mated females it initiates the production of hundreds of eggs. By means of RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) we have examined how a blood meal influences mRNA expression in the central nervous system (CNS), fat body and ovaries in order to promote egg production, focusing on tissue-specific responses under controlled nutritional conditions. We illustrate the cross talk between reproduction and a) lipids, proteins and trehalose metabolism, b) neuropeptide and neurohormonal signaling, and c) the immune system. Overall, our molecular evaluation confirms and supports previous studies and provides an invaluable molecular resource for future investigations on different tissues involved in successful reproductive events. Analyses like this can be used to increase the chances of developing novel strategies of vector population control by translational research, with less impact on the environment and more specificity for a particular organism.Author summaryThe blood-sucking hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus is one of the main vectors of Chagas disease. The blood meal is an event with a high epidemiological impact since in adult mated females, blood-gorging leads to the production of hundreds of eggs. This work describes an in-depth central nervous system (CNS), ovary and fat body transcriptome analysis, focusing on transcripts related to blood intake which may be relevant in promoting egg production. To date, the principle focus in Chagas disease prevention is on the elimination of triatomine vectors and their progeny. This work will serve as a starting point for initiating novel investigations on targets identified with a potential for use in vector control; for example using specific genes to generated symbiont-mediated RNAi, a powerful technology which provides a novel means in biocontrol against tropical disease vectors.

scholarly journals Silencing the odorant receptor co-receptor RproOrco affects the physiology and behavior of the Chagas disease vector Rhodnius prolixus

2016 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 82-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago A. Franco ◽  
Daniele S. Oliveira ◽  
Monica F. Moreira ◽  
Walter S. Leal ◽  
Ana C.A. Melo
Keyword(s):  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Odorant Receptor ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Disease Vector ◽  
And Behavior

Transformation of Rhodococcus rhodnii, a symbiont of the Chagas disease vector Rhodnius prolixus, with integrative elements of the L1 mycobacteriophage

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen M Dotson ◽  
Bonnie Plikaytis ◽  
Thomas M Shinnick ◽  
Ravi V Durvasula ◽  
Charles B Beard
Keyword(s):  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Disease Vector

Copulation and Egg-Production in Rhodnius Prolixus: the Role of the Spermathecae

1965 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-378
Author(s):  
K. G. DAVEY
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Seminal Vesicles ◽  
Primary Stimulus ◽  
Accessory Glands ◽  
Normal Males ◽  
Mated Female

1. Mated females of Rhodnius prolixus lay eggs at approximately twice the rate of unmated females. 2. Males which have had their seminal vesicles or opaque accessory glands removed produce spermatophores at mating, but no spermatozoa appear in the spermathecae of the females. The females involved in such matings do not exhibit an increase in egg-production. 3. When females lacking their spermathecae are mated to normal males, the increase in egg production which follows normal matings does not materialize. 4. Implanting spermathecae from mated females into virgin females increases the egg-production of the host. Implanting spermathecae from virgin females or seminal vesicles or transparent accessory glands from males has no effect on the egg-production of the donor. 5. It is tentatively concluded that a blood-borne factor from the spermathecae containing spermatozoa is the primary stimulus to increased egg production in a mated female.

Haemolymph Proteins and Yolk Formation in Rhodnius Prolixus Stål

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-431
Author(s):  
G. C. COLES
Keyword(s):  
Cellulose Acetate ◽  
Total Protein ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Hormonal Control ◽  
Protein Fractions ◽  
Yolk Formation ◽  
Specific Proteins

1. There are two adult-specific proteins in the haemolymph of Rhodnius. They appear to be formed in the fat body. 2. The two proteins are absorbed by the oocytes and form the bulk of the soluble egg proteins. 3. The changes in the concentration of total protein in the haemolymph and of four protein fractions, as separated on cellulose acetate, do not reflect egg production. This may be a consequence of the hormonal control of reproduction.

The transmission of Actinomyces rhodnii Erikson in Rhodnius prolixus stål (hemiptera) and its influence on the growth of the host

Parasitology ◽  
1944 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Brecher ◽  
V. B. Wigglesworth
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus

Actinomyces rhodnii has been isolated regularly from Rhodnius prolixus reared in the laboratory. It is not transmitted through the egg but is taken up by the young nymph from the environment; sometimes from the contaminated surface of the egg; more often perhaps from the dry excreta of other members of the species.Rhodnius has been reared free from Actinomyces by sterilizing the surface of the egg and feeding with suitable precautions.These sterile insects grow and moult normally until the 4th or 5th instar. Moulting is then delayed or may fail entirely in spite of repeated feeds of blood. Very few insects without Actinomyces become adult, and those few are almost certainly incapable of reproduction. Normal growth and moulting and egg production are resumed if the insects are re-infected with Actinomyces.

scholarly journals High-Throughput Identification of the Rhodnius prolixus Midgut Proteome Unravels a Sophisticated Hematophagic Machinery

Proteomes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radouane Ouali ◽  
Karen Caroline Valentim de Brito ◽  
Didier Salmon ◽  
Sabrina Bousbata
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Chagas Disease ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Anterior Part ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Etiologic Agent ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Developmental Cycle ◽  
Starting Point

Chagas disease is one of the most common parasitic infections in Latin America, which is transmitted by hematophagous triatomine bugs, of which Rhodnius prolixus is the vector prototype for the study of this disease. The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of this disease, is transmitted by the vector to humans through the bite wound or mucosa. The passage of the parasite through the digestive tract of its vector constitutes a key step in its developmental cycle. Herewith, by a using high-throughput proteomic tool in order to characterize the midgut proteome of R. prolixus, we describe a set of functional groups of proteins, as well as the biological processes in which they are involved. This is the first proteomic analysis showing an elaborated hematophagy machinery involved in the digestion of blood, among which, several families of proteases have been characterized. The evaluation of the activity of cathepsin D proteases in the anterior part of the digestive tract of the insect suggested the existence of a proteolytic activity within this compartment, suggesting that digestion occurs early in this compartment. Moreover, several heat shock proteins, blood clotting inhibitors, and a powerful antioxidant enzyme machinery against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell detoxification have been identified. Highlighting the complexity and importance of the digestive physiology of insects could be a starting point for the selection of new targets for innovative control strategies of Chagas disease.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document