Honeydew sugars in wild‐caught Phlebotomus ariasi detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC)

Abstract

Phlebotomus ariasi Tonnoir sandflies were caught in light traps hung in oak trees and in a house in the Cévennes focus of leishmaniasis in the South of France. The flies were cryopreserved either immediately on removal from the traps, or after starvation for 6-7 days, or after 6-7 days starvation followed by exposure to oak infested with the aphid genera Lachnus or Thelaxes. After transportation to the laboratory, the sandflies were thawed and aqueous extracts of the crushed flies were analysed for their carbohydrate content using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). Starved female sandflies lacked significant amounts of any saccharides. Four types of sugar, melezitose and its hydrolysis products turanose, glucose and fructose, were observed in flies which had been starved previously and then placed with Lachnus infested oak. The results also indicate the presence of hydrolysis products of melezitose: (a) in flies previously starved and placed with Thelaxes infested oak, (b) in P.ariasi cryopreserved direct from the light traps hung in oak trees infested with Lachnus and Thelaxes, and (c) flies caught in a house. Unidentifiably small quantities of a trisaccharide were also detected in the latter groups of flies. In previous tests, sugars were detected in P.ariasi after their exposure to aphid-infested oak (Quercus ilex L.), but not when P.ariasi females were exposed to washed oak leaves without aphids. The results indicate that P.ariasi feed on melezitose and/or turanose, the main local source of which is aphid honeydew. A better understanding of sugar meal sources of sandflies using HPLC and GC techniques will assist in our understanding of sandfly/Leishmania relationships, parasite transmission and epidemiology.

Sand fly feeding on noxious plants: a potential method for the control of leishmaniasis.

“…1 Female sand flies require blood to support the growth of eggs, and both sexes take ''sugar meals'' consisting of plant tissues or honeydews excreted by aphids and coccids to sustain their daily activities. [2][3][4][5][6] Observations in a typical arid focus of L. major in the Jordan Valley indicated that the sand flies obtained sugars by feeding only on a limited number of plant species. 7 Since the developmental cycle of Leishmania parasites in the sand fly is restricted to the gut, they are exposed to the ingested tissues of the various plants upon which the sand flies feed.…”

Sand fly saliva: toward a vaccine against leishmaniases

“…Since they rest outside, they cannot be efficiently controlled using inside residual spraying with insecticides [12,16]. Both male and female sand flies have sugar feeding from natural sources such as juices of plants [22] and honeydews of aphids [23][24][25][26]. The females have also blood feeding because they need the blood to produce the nutrition required for their egg production.…”

Lista actualizada de flebotomíneos (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) de la región cafetera colombiana

“…En términos de alimentación de los adultos, también hay una gran variedad de fuentes naturales de azúcar, que incluyen el fruto maduro del café y el guamo, lo que facilita el establecimiento de los parásitos del género Leishmania en los insectos vectores (39,52,53). Asimismo, las fuentes de ingestión sanguínea de los flebotomíneos pueden incluir roedores silvestres (Micoureus demerarae y Microryzomys minutus) y otros mamíferos, así como los animales domésticos y los residentes humanos que viven cerca o entre los cultivos del café (54,55).…”

“…Además, en lo concerniente a los nuevos registros, se detalla el método de recolección utilizado. Los resultados de la presente revisión confirman que la zona cafetera del país es, en efecto, un área de riesgo potencial, donde la presencia de especies vectores se suma a la evidencia de transmisión activa de la enfermedad dentro o alrededor de las casas o cerca a las plantaciones de café, lo que tiene un impacto directo sobre las poblaciones humanas que viven y trabajan en dichas plantaciones, por lo cual sería de suma importancia desarrollar actividades de vigilancia entomológica (39,40,41,(54)(55)(56)61,65,66,75 Entre los nuevos registros de especies cuya presencia se suma a la lista conocida de especies para la zona cafetera, sobresalen las siguientes: Brumptomyia sp. cerca a guimaraesi, Lu Las posibles nuevas especies y nuevos registros de especies para los departamentos de Antioquia, Caldas y Quindío, se presentan en el cuadro 2.…”

“…Entre estas, y con respecto a la transmisión de la leishmaniasis, es relevante Lu. gomezi, considerada como probable vector en varias regiones endémicas de leishmaniasis cutánea en Colombia (54,93,95,96) y la cual se ha detectado naturalmente infectada con L. panamensis; se le considera, además, como una especie con hábitos de picadura marcadamente antropofílicos (cuadro 3). Por otra parte, Lu.…”