Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito.

Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. Here we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, form , also known as the London Underground Mosquito. Population genomic analysis of ~350 contemporary and historical samples counter the popular hypothesis that originated belowground in London less than 200 years ago.

Leishmania donovani Transmission Cycle Associated with Human Infection, Phlebotomus alexandri Sand Flies, and Hare Blood Meals, Israel.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major or L. tropica and visceral leishmaniasis caused by L. infantum have been reported in Israel.

A next-generation (DNA) sequencing (NGS)-based method for identifying the sources of sugar meals in mosquito vectors of West Nile virus in Israel.

Mosquitoes of the genus comprise important vectors of pathogenic arboviruses in our region, including West Nile and Rift Valley Fever viruses. To improve our understanding of the epidemiology and transmission dynamics of arboviruses, we need to study the behavior and ecology of their vectors. The feeding patterns of the vector mosquitoes can be very useful in determining how and where to focus control efforts.

Leishmania infection in cats and dogs housed together in an animal shelter reveals a higher parasite load in infected dogs despite a greater seroprevalence among cats.

Background: An outbreak of leishmaniosis was studied in cats and dogs housed together with no separation in an animal shelter in Israel.

Methods: The study included recording of clinical signs, serology for Leishmania infection by ELISA, PCR of blood for Leishmania DNA by ITS1 HRM and kDNA PCR, parasite quantification, and trapping of sand flies around the shelter.

Results: Thirty-seven % (22/60) of the dogs and 75% (50/67) of the cats were seropositive to L.

Molecular characterization of six Hyalomma species using mitochondrial markers.

Hyalomma species (Acari: Ixodidae) are vectors of several human and animal pathogens. However, due to their similar morphological properties, classification of related Hyalomma species is often challenging. Here we describe a combined approach for molecular characterization of six Hyalomma species: H.