Rivera-Duarte Jose D, May-Concha Irving Jesús, Vargas-Abasolo Reyna, Martínez-Castaneira Mayab X, Farfán-Beltrán Manuel Edday, Mendoza-Garfias Berenit, Flores-Villegas Any Laura, Córdoba-Aguilar Alex
Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria Ciudad de México Mexico.
Laboratorio de Hidrobiología, Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Ciudad Universitaria Tegucigalpa Honduras.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Mar 23;15(3):e71164. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71164. eCollection 2025 Mar.
This study investigates the antennal phenotype of the kissing bug (Stål), a primary vector of Chagas disease, by comparing -infected and noninfected individuals. We examined the antennae of infected and noninfected N5 nymphs, as well as adult females and males, focusing on four types of sensilla (bristles, basiconic, thin-walled trichoid, and thick-walled trichoid) across three antenna segments (pedicel, proximal flagellum, and distal flagellum). We found differences in sensilla abundance across the antennal segments, with the proximal flagellum showing the highest abundance, followed by the distal flagellum, and the pedicel having the least. Infection demonstrated that males had more chemosensilla than females. We observed a trend in the infected males and nymphs with an increased variation in sensilla types. These antennal modifications are related to previous results in this species whereby infected bugs were found to be more active and capable of finding a human odor compared to noninfected animals. Thus, infection-related changes in antennal phenotype may underlie ' sensory capabilities, which may indirectly facilitate the spread of the parasite.
本研究通过比较感染和未感染的个体，调查了恰加斯病主要传播媒介猎蝽（斯塔尔）的触角表型。我们检查了感染和未感染的N5若虫以及成年雌性和雄性的触角，重点关注三个触角节段（梗节、近端鞭节和远端鞭节）上的四种感觉器（刚毛、锥形、薄壁毛形和厚壁毛形）。我们发现触角节段间感觉器丰度存在差异，近端鞭节的丰度最高，其次是远端鞭节，梗节的最少。感染表明雄性比雌性具有更多的化学感受器。我们观察到感染的雄性和若虫存在一种趋势，即感觉器类型的变异增加。这些触角的改变与该物种先前的研究结果相关，即与未感染的动物相比，发现感染的虫子更活跃，能够找到人类气味。因此，触角表型的感染相关变化可能是“感觉能力”的基础，这可能间接促进寄生虫的传播。
