Sedentary bird species are suitable model hosts for identifying potential vectors of avian blood parasites. We studied haemosporidian infections in the Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus) in the Ore Mountains of the Czech Republic using molecular detection methods. Sex of owl nestlings was scored using molecular sexing based on fragment analysis of PCR-amplified CHD1 introns. Observed infection prevalences in nestlings and adult owls were 51 and 86 %, respectively. Five parasite lineages were detected. Most of the infections comprised the Leucocytozoon AEFUN02 and STOCC06 lineages that probably refer to distinct Leucocytozoon species. Other lineages were detected only sporadically. Mixed infections were found in 49 % of samples. The main factor affecting the probability of infection was host age. No effect of individual sex on infection probability was evidenced. The youngest infected nestling was 12 days old. High parasite prevalence in the Tengmalm's Owl nestlings suggests that insect vectors must enter nest boxes to transmit parasites before fledging. Hence, we placed sticky insect traps into modified nest boxes, collected potential insect vectors, and examined them for the presence of haemosporidian parasites using molecular detection. We trapped 201 insects which were determined as biting midges from the Culicoides genus and two black fly species, Simulium (Nevermannia) vernum and Simulium (Eusimulium) angustipes. Six haemosporidian lineages were detected in the potential insect vectors, among which the Leucocytozoon lineage BT2 was common to the Tengmalm's Owl and the trapped insects. However, we have not detected the most frequently encountered Tengmalm's Owl Leucocytozoon lineages AEFUN02 and STOCC06 in insects.

• MeSH
• Ceratopogonidae parazitologie   MeSH
• Haemosporida genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• hmyz - vektory parazitologie   MeSH
• nemoci ptáků epidemiologie   parazitologie   přenos   MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
• prevalence MeSH
• protozoální infekce zvířat epidemiologie   parazitologie   přenos   MeSH
• sexuální faktory MeSH
• Simuliidae parazitologie   MeSH
• Stringiformes parazitologie   MeSH
• věkové faktory MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

Sand flies remain the only proven vectors of Leishmania spp. but recent implementation of PCR techniques has led to increasing speculation about "alternative vectors", including biting midges. Here, we summarize that PCR has considerable limits for studing the role of bloodsucking arthropods in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis. The Leishmania life cycle in the sand fly includes a complex series of interactions which are in many cases species-specific, the early phase of the infection is, however, non-specific to sand flies. These facts should be considered in detection of Leishmania in ,"alternative" or "new" vectors to avoid mistaken speculation about their vector competence.

• MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• hmyz - vektory fyziologie   MeSH
• hmyz fyziologie   MeSH
• Leishmania fyziologie   MeSH
• leishmanióza parazitologie   přenos   MeSH
• stravovací zvyklosti MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• dopisy MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH

BACKGROUND: Although avian trypanosomes are widespread parasites, the knowledge of their vectors is still incomplete. Despite biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are considered as potential vectors of avian trypanosomes, their role in transmission has not been satisfactorily elucidated. Our aim was to clarify the potential of biting midges to sustain the development of avian trypanosomes by testing their susceptibility to different strains of avian trypanosomes experimentally. Moreover, we screened biting midges for natural infections in the wild. RESULTS: Laboratory-bred biting midges Culicoides nubeculosus were highly susceptible to trypanosomes from the Trypanosoma bennetti and T. avium clades. Infection rates reached 100%, heavy infections developed in 55-87% of blood-fed females. Parasite stages from the insect gut were infective for birds. Moreover, midges could be infected after feeding on a trypanosome-positive bird. Avian trypanosomes can thus complete their cycle in birds and biting midges. Furthermore, we succeeded to find infected blood meal-free biting midges in the wild. CONCLUSIONS: Biting midges are probable vectors of avian trypanosomes belonging to T. bennetti group. Midges are highly susceptible to artificial infections, can be infected after feeding on birds, and T. bennetti-infected biting midges (Culicoides spp.) have been found in nature. Moreover, midges can be used as model hosts producing metacyclic avian trypanosome stages infective for avian hosts.

• MeSH
• Ceratopogonidae anatomie a histologie   parazitologie   MeSH
• gastrointestinální trakt parazitologie   MeSH
• hmyz - vektory parazitologie   MeSH
• hostitelská specificita MeSH
• kanáři parazitologie   MeSH
• mikroskopie elektronová rastrovací MeSH
• nemoci ptáků parazitologie   přenos   MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
• ptáci parazitologie   MeSH
• Trypanosoma klasifikace   genetika   fyziologie   ultrastruktura   MeSH
• trypanozomiáza diagnóza   parazitologie   přenos   veterinární   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) represent a huge threat for millions of humans and animals worldwide, since they act as vectors for important parasites and pathogens, including malaria, filariasis and important arboviruses, such as dengue, West Nile and Zika virus. No vaccines or other specific treatments are available against the arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes, and avoidance of mosquito bites remains the best strategy. African regions are usually hit most whose inhabitants are poor, and the use of repellent plants is the only efficient protection against vectors they have. Ethnobotanical knowledge of such plants and their use is usually passed on orally from one generation to another. However, it is also important to preserve this information in a written form, as well. Ethnobotanical research projects carried out in the regions of today's Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania indicate that the native inhabitants of the African study regions traditionally use 64 plant species, belonging to 30 families. Aromatic plants (i.e., Citrus spp., Eucalyptus spp., Lantana camara, Ocimum spp. and Lippia javanica) the most commonly used in all the study regions. Native people know three major methods of using repellent plants: (i) production of repellent smoke from burning plants, (ii) hanging plants inside the house or sprinkling leaves on the floor, (iii) the use of plant oils, juices from crushed fresh parts of the plants, or various prepared extracts applied on uncovered body parts. Overall, this review covers studies conducted only in a limited part of the African continent, highlighting the importance to undertake further research efforts to preserve the unique knowledge and traditions of the native tribes.

• MeSH
• Culicidae * MeSH
• etnobotanika MeSH
• hmyz - vektory * MeSH
• moskytiéry MeSH
• repelenty proti hmyzu klasifikace   MeSH
• rostlinné extrakty MeSH
• zdraví - znalosti, postoje, praxe etnologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Afrika MeSH

• MeSH
• hmyz - vektory MeSH
• infekce přenášené vektorem MeSH
• malárie prevence a kontrola   MeSH
• vakcína proti malárii MeSH

• Konspekt
• Patologie. Klinická medicína
• NLK Obory
• infekční lékařství
• cestovní a tropická medicína
• NLK Publikační typ
• publikace WHO

BACKGROUND: Leishmania virulence factors responsible for the complicated epidemiology of the various leishmaniases remain mainly unidentified. This study is a characterization of a gene previously identified as upregulated in two of three overlapping datasets containing putative factors important for Leishmania's ability to establish mammalian intracellular infection and to colonize the gut of an insect vector. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The investigated gene encodes ATP/GTP binding motif-containing protein related to Leishmania development 1 (ALD1), a cytosolic protein that contains a cryptic ATP/GTP binding P-loop. We compared differentiation, growth rates, and infective abilities of wild-type and ALD1 null mutant cell lines of L. mexicana. Loss of ALD1 results in retarded growth kinetics but not defects in differentiation in axenic culture. Similarly, when mice and the sand fly vector were infected with the ALD1 null mutant, the primary difference in infection and colonization phenotype relative to wild type was an inability to achieve maximal host pathogenicity. While ability of the ALD1 null mutant cells to infect macrophages in vitro was not affected, replication within macrophages was clearly curtailed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: L. mexicana ALD1, encoding a protein with no assigned functional domains or motifs, was identified utilizing multiple comparative analyses with the related and often experimentally overlooked monoxenous flagellates. We found that it plays a role in Leishmania infection and colonization in vitro and in vivo. Results suggest that ALD1 functions in L. mexicana's general metabolic network, rather than function in specific aspect of virulence as anticipated from the compared datasets. This result validates our comparative genomics approach for finding relevant factors, yet highlights the importance of quality laboratory-based analysis of genes tagged by these methods.

• MeSH
• hmyz - vektory parazitologie   MeSH
• Leishmania mexicana genetika   patogenita   MeSH
• leishmanióza kožní parazitologie   MeSH
• makrofágy parazitologie   MeSH
• myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
• myši MeSH
• proteiny vázající GTP genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• protozoální proteiny genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• Psychodidae parazitologie   MeSH
• virulence MeSH
• vývojová regulace genové exprese MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• myši MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

• MeSH
• biologie MeSH
• členovci - vektory MeSH
• hmyz - vektory MeSH
• infekce přenášené vektorem MeSH
• rizikové faktory MeSH
• trasování kontaktů MeSH
• tropické lékařství MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

• Konspekt
• Biologické vědy
• Učební osnovy. Vyučovací předměty. Učebnice
• NLK Obory
• biologie
• infekční lékařství
• NLK Publikační typ
• učebnice vysokých škol

• Klíčová slova
• hmyz přenášející nemoci - metody boje - tropy - sborníky prací, lékařství tropické - konference(Antwerpen,1990) - sborníky prací,

• Konspekt
• Patologie. Klinická medicína
• NLK Obory
• cestovní a tropická medicína
• parazitologie
• mikrobiologie, lékařská mikrobiologie

Leishmania species, members of the kinetoplastid parasites, cause leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, in millions of people worldwide. Leishmania has a complex life cycle with multiple developmental forms, as it cycles between a sand fly vector and a mammalian host; understanding their life cycle is critical to understanding disease spread. One of the key life cycle stages is the haptomonad form, which attaches to insect tissues through its flagellum. This adhesion, conserved across kinetoplastid parasites, is implicated in having an important function within their life cycles and hence in disease transmission. Here, we discover the kinetoplastid-insect adhesion proteins (KIAPs), which localise in the attached Leishmania flagellum. Deletion of these KIAPs impairs cell adhesion in vitro and prevents Leishmania from colonising the stomodeal valve in the sand fly, without affecting cell growth. Additionally, loss of parasite adhesion in the sand fly results in reduced physiological changes to the fly, with no observable damage of the stomodeal valve and reduced midgut swelling. These results provide important insights into a comprehensive understanding of the Leishmania life cycle, which will be critical for developing transmission-blocking strategies.

• MeSH
• buněčná adheze MeSH
• flagella * metabolismus   MeSH
• hmyz - vektory parazitologie   MeSH
• hmyzí proteiny metabolismus   genetika   MeSH
• interakce hostitele a parazita MeSH
• Leishmania * fyziologie   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• leishmanióza parazitologie   přenos   MeSH
• protozoální proteiny metabolismus   genetika   MeSH
• Psychodidae * parazitologie   MeSH
• stadia vývoje MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Many plant viruses are vectored by insects in a persistent circulative manner. The insect gut and salivary gland are important barriers limiting virus spread, but the mechanisms by which viruses are able to cross the gut escape barriers of the insect remain largely unknown. Wheat dwarf virus (WDV), transmitted by Psammotettix alienus in a persistent, circulative, and nonpropagative manner, causes the most economically important virus disease in wheat. In this study, ADP ribosylation factor 1 (ARF1) was found to interact with the coat protein of WDV in a yeast two-hybrid, pull-down assay and to colocalise with virions in the gut and salivary glands of P. alienus. When transcription of ARF1 was suppressed by RNA interference, the WDV titre decreased in the haemolymph and salivary glands, and transmission efficiency decreased, but titre in the gut did not differ from that of the control. These data suggest that ARF1 of P. alienus binds to the WDV virion and helps virus spread from gut to haemolymph. Our study provides direct experimental evidence that WDV can use the existing membrane trafficking mechanism to aid its spread within the insect vector. This first analysis of the molecular interaction between WDV and its vector P. alienus contributes to understanding the mechanisms involved in circulative transmission of the virus by the leafhopper vector.

• MeSH
• ADP-ribosylační faktor 1 genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• buněčné linie MeSH
• Geminiviridae patogenita   MeSH
• Hemiptera genetika   metabolismus   virologie   MeSH
• hmyz - vektory genetika   MeSH
• nemoci rostlin virologie   MeSH
• RNA interference MeSH
• slinné žlázy metabolismus   virologie   MeSH
• střeva virologie   MeSH
• techniky dvojhybridového systému MeSH
• virion metabolismus   MeSH
• virové plášťové proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH