Publications by authors named "V M Dillon"
Article Synopsis
- *Current control methods focus on managing sand fly populations and their reservoirs due to challenges like drug resistance and the toxicity of existing treatments.
- *Researchers sequenced the genomes of two key sand fly species to better understand their biology and genetic diversity, paving the way for improved strategies to combat the spread of Leishmania parasites.
Genome Wide Mapping of Peptidases in : Identification of Protease Gene Duplications, Horizontally Transferred Proteases and Analysis of Peptidase A1 Structures, with Considerations on Their Role in the Evolution of Hematophagy in Triatominae.
Front Physiol
December 2017
Triatominae is a subfamily of the order Hemiptera whose species are able to feed in the vertebrate blood (i.e., hematophagy).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAedes aegypti larvae ingest several kinds of microorganisms. In spite of studies regarding mosquito digestion, little is known about the nutritional utilization of ingested cells by larvae. We investigated the effects of using yeasts as the sole nutrient source for A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study investigates the feeding behavior of Triatomines, specifically Rhodnius prolixus, traditionally viewed solely as blood feeders, by offering them artificial sugar meals and tomato fruits to see if they consume non-blood sources.
- Results show that R. prolixus not only consumed sugar and plant tissue but also benefited from this diet by improving their health, increasing longevity, and reducing mortality after blood meals.
- This research suggests that local plants may provide essential nutrients for triatomine vectors, altering the understanding of their feeding habits and opening new avenues for Chagas Disease research and management.
Background: Phlebotomine sand flies transmit the haemoflagellate Leishmania, the causative agent of human leishmaniasis. The Leishmania promastigotes are confined to the gut lumen and are exposed to the gut microbiota within female sand flies. Here we study the colonisation resistance of yeast and bacteria in preventing the establishment of a Leishmania population in sand flies and the ability of Leishmania to provide colonisation resistance towards the insect bacterial pathogen Serratia marcescens that is also pathogenic towards Leishmania.
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