Lutzomyia longipalpis in Brazil: a complex or a single species? A mini-review

Reproductive isolation between sympatric and allopatric Brazilian populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l. (Diptera: Psychodidae)

“…longipalpis s.l. is a species complex in Brazil (reviewed in Bauzer et al 2007, Maingon et al 2008), a fact that might have significant epidemiological consequences as sibling species often differ in their importance as vectors.…”

“…Mangabeira commented that the two forms were found in different ecological conditions and speculated that they might represent two species. The existence of a complex was confirmed by Ward et al (1983Ward et al ( , 1988 and Lanzaro et al (1993) in crossing experiments, although the male spot phenotype turned out to be only useful as a morphological marker of different species in some localities such as Sobral, CE (see below) (reviewed in Bauzer et al 2007).…”

“…Mangabeira commented that the two forms were found in different ecological conditions and speculated that they might represent two species. The existence of a complex was confirmed by Ward et al (1983Ward et al ( , 1988 and Lanzaro et al (1993) in crossing experiments, although the male spot phenotype turned out to be only useful as a morphological marker of different species in some localities such as Sobral, CE (see below) (reviewed in Bauzer et al 2007).In Brazil, Lutzomyia longipalpis s. l. (Lutz & Neiva, 1912) is without any doubt the principal vector of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL). It is present in nearly all of the foci of visceral leishmaniasis, is highly anthropophilic as well as readily feeding on dogs and foxes which act as reservoirs of Leishamania chagasi which are frequently found infected (reviewed in Lainson & Rangel 2005).…”

“…Analysis of male copulatory courtship songs (Souza et al 2002 and pheromones (Ward et al 1988, Hamilton et al 1996a,b, 2005 The best studied populations in Brazil, from an evolutionary point of view, are located in Jacobina (state of Bahía), Lapinha Cave in Lagoa Santa (state of Minas Gerais), Natal (state of Rio Grande do Norte) and Sobral (CE) (Bauzer et al 2007). The first three localities represent different allopatric siblings (Bauzer et al 2002b, Bottecchia et al 2004, Watts et al 2005) while in Sobral two species coexist in sympatry (Bauzer et al 2002a, Maingon et al 2003, Bottecchia et al 2004.…”

Sandfly pheromones: Their biology and potential for use in control programs

“…The WHO estimates that the global burden of disease expressed as DALYs (Disability AdjusArticle available at http://www.parasite-journal.org or http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2008153252 geneous pattern of disease distribution as well as phenotypic and genotypic variation within L. longipalpis have led some researchers to conclude that L. longipalpis in Brazil is a species complex (Mangabeira, 1969;Ward et al, 1983;Conn & Mirabello, 2007;Maingon et al, 2008). However it is unclear how many members of the complex there are (Bauzer et al, 2007) although at least five have been suggested Bauzer et al, 2007). The chemical ecology of L. longipalpis has received particular attention because sex pheromones produced by males appear to be good markers of members of the species complex (Ward et al, 1983;Hamilton et al, 2005;Watts et al, 2005) and because of the possibility that the sex pheromones may be used in more selective and efficient monitoring and/or control traps (Hamilton & Krishnakumari, 2004).…”