Should reproductively isolated populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis sensu lato receive taxonomically valid names?

“…Humans, which are considered to be a dead-end host for the parasite [8], become infected when they are fed on by infected female sand flies of the Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l. (Lutz & Neiva) (Diptera: Psychodidae) species complex predominantly [9]. In dogs, VL is characterised by dermatitis, lymphadenomegaly, general muscular atrophy, and renal disease [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Odour of domestic dogs infected with Leishmania infantum is attractive to female but not male sand flies: Evidence for parasite manipulation

Staniek

Hamilton

2021

PLoS Pathog

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Globally visceral leishmaniasis (VL) causes thousands of human deaths every year. In South America, the etiologic agent, Leishmania infantum, is transmitted from an infected canine reservoir to human hosts by the bite of the sand fly vector; predominantly Lutzomyia longipalpis. Previous evidence from model rodent systems have suggested that the odour of infected hosts is altered by the parasite making them more attractive to the vector leading to an increased biting rate and improved transmission prospects for the pathogen. However, there has been no assessment of the effect of Le infantum infection on the attractiveness of dogs, which are the natural reservoirs for human infection. Hair collected from infected and uninfected dogs residing in a VL endemic city in Brazil was entrained to collect the volatile chemical odours present in the headspace. Female and male Lu. longipalpis sand flies were offered a choice of odour entrained from infected and uninfected dogs in a series of behavioural experiments. Odour of uninfected dogs was equally attractive to male or female Lu. longipalpis when compared to a solvent control. Female Lu. longipalpis were significantly more attracted to infected dog odour than uninfected dog odour in all 15 experimental replicates (average 45.7±0.87 females attracted to infected odour; 23.9±0.82 to uninfected odour; paired T-test, P = 0.000). Male Lu. longipalpis did not significantly prefer either infected or uninfected odour (average 36.1±0.4 males to infected odour; 35.7±0.6 to uninfected odour; paired T-test, P = 0.722). A significantly greater proportion of females chose the infected dog odour compared to the males (paired T-test, P = 0.000). The results showed that the odour of dogs infected with Le. infantum was significantly more attractive to blood-seeking female sand flies than it was to male sand flies. This is strong evidence for parasite manipulation of the host odour in a natural transmission system and indicates that infected dogs may have a disproportionate significance in maintaining infection in the canine and human population.

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“…Presently, the existence of a Lu. longipalpis species complex is accepted and has raised the prospect of assigning valid taxonomic names to its included species ( Brandão-Filho et al 2009 ). Although a few morphologic studies have shown differences among some populations (de la Riva et al 2001 , Santos et al 2015 ), no discrete anatomical attribute has proven to be reliably diagnostic and extensively employed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The current status of the Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) species complex

Souza

Brazil

Araki

2017

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

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Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l. is a complex of sibling species and is the principal vector of American visceral leishmaniasis. The present review summarises the diversity of efforts that have been undertaken to elucidate the number of unnamed species in this species complex and the phylogenetic relationships among them. A wide variety of evidence, including chemical, behavioral and molecular traits, suggests very recent speciation events and complex population structure in this group. Although significant advances have been achieved to date, differential vector capacity and the correlation between structure of parasite and vector populations have yet to be elucidated. Furthermore, increased knowledge about recent epidemiological changes, such as urbanisation, is essential for pursuing effective strategies for sandfly control in the New World.

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Should reproductively isolated populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis sensu lato receive taxonomically valid names?

Cited by 10 publications

References 20 publications

Lutzomyia longipalpis in Uruguay: the first report and the potential of visceral leishmaniasis transmission

Lutzomyia longipalpis in Uruguay: the first report and the potential of visceral leishmaniasis transmission

Odour of domestic dogs infected with Leishmania infantum is attractive to female but not male sand flies: Evidence for parasite manipulation

The current status of the Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) species complex

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