(0.07-0.18; 0.12-0.20; 0.10-0.13; 0.22-0.25 g/g, respectively) and biomass (0.19-0.26; 0.33-0.39; 0.13-0.27; 0.47-0.61 g/g, respectively) yields and fermentative efficiency (12.3-36.3; 21.0-40.0; 19.3-26.3; 47.6-54.0 %, respectively)

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Background Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors for several pathogens, with Leishmania being the most important. In Brazil, the main aetiological agent of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis , and Nyssomyia neivai is one of its main vectors in São Paulo state and other areas of South America. Similar to other haematophagous insects, sand flies use volatile compounds called kairomones to locate their hosts for blood meals. A possible increase in the attractiveness of hosts infected with Leishmania infantum to their vectors has been demonstrated. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether L . braziliensis -infected hosts present higher attractiveness to Ny . neivai and to identify differences in the volatile compounds released by infected and uninfected mice. Results Behavioural experiments in which sand fly females directly fed on infected or uninfected mice showed no significant differences in the attractiveness of the mice or the blood volume ingested. Y-tube olfactometer bioassays also revealed no significant differences in the attractiveness of these hosts to Ny . neivai . No differences were observed in the profiles of the volatile compounds released by the two groups of mice. However, PCA and cluster analysis were able to classify the 31 identified compounds into three clusters according to their abundances. This classification showed a possible role for individual variation in the absence of differences in volatile profiles and attractiveness between infected and uninfected mice. Conclusion In this first cross-sectional study with an aetiological agent of ACL, there were no statistically significant differences in the attractiveness of infected hosts to their vector.

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Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are known to establish positive relationships with plants. They act in favoring plant nutrition, production of phytohormones, control of pathogens and enhancement of stress tolerance. Thus, this study aimed to isolate bacteria from soil, rhizosphere, and root endosphere from sugarcane cultivated in the Southeastern of Brazil, to prospect strains with potential for plant growth promotion. The samples were plated in Nutrient Agar medium, and the morphologically distinct colonies were isolated and analyzed about indoleacetic acid production, phosphate solubilization and the growth control of the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium verticillioides. A total of 219 isolates were obtained, of which 86 from soil, 67 from rhizosphere and 66 from sugarcane root endosphere. The strains that presented more than one mechanism of plant growth promotion were identified by the sequencing of 16S gene. Most species belonged to the genus Bacillus, which has strains already used in various biological products for the control of diseases in agriculture. Some Bacillus species isolated in our study have never been isolated from sugarcane, and others have been studied for the first time as plant growth promoters. The isolated strains constitute an important microbial bank to be explored to compose innovative products for agriculture.

Sand flies are natural hosts of various microorganisms. Due to their epidemiological importance, sand fly colonies are kept in laboratories to be studied in terms of their biology and vector/host/parasite interactions. In order to investigate the presence of oviposition pheromones in Nyssomyia neivai, experiments using Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) were performed. However, siloxanes which is an external class of contamination, present in breeding containers made by plaster used to maintain sand flies in colonies, may be hindered the experiments.

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