title: Feeding preferences of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae), the sand fly vector, for Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae).
abstract: Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Brazil, is spread mostly by the bite of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva). We trapped sand flies in endemic neighborhoods near Natal, Brazil, where cases of human and dog VL were documented. Amplification of species-specific cytochrome b (Cyt b) genes by polymerase chain reaction revealed that sand flies from rural and periurban areas harbored blood from different sources. The most common source ofbloodmeal was human, but blood from dog, chicken, and armadillo was also present. We tested the preference for a source of bloodmeal experimentally by feeding L. longipalpis F1 with blood from different animals. There were significant differences between the proportion of flies engorged and number of eggs laid among flies fed on different sources, varying from 8.4 to 19 (P < 0.0001). Blood from guinea pig or horse was best to support sand fly oviposition, but human blood also supported sand fly oviposition well. No sand flies fed on cats, and sand flies feeding on the opossum Monodelphis domestica Wagner produced no eggs. These data support the hypothesis that L. longipalpis is an eclectic feeder, and humans are an important source of blood for this sand fly species in periurban areas of Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biosciences Center, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Natal, RN, Brazil, 59078.
authors.forename: Virgínia P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Macedo-Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Genetics, Biosciences Center, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Natal, RN, Brazil, 59078.
authors.forename: Daniella R A
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, State Mossoro, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula Vivianne Souza
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: De Queiroz
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biosciences Center, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Natal, RN, Brazil, 59078.
authors.forename: Marcos Paulo G
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biosciences Center, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Natal, RN, Brazil, 59078.
authors.forename: Caio C M
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Natal, RN, Brazil, 59078.
authors.forename: José W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Queiroz
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Global Health, Weill Cornell Medical College, 402 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Dupnik
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Center for Global Health, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa and the Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Biosciences Center,Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Natal, RN, Brazil, 59078.
authors.forename: Selma M B
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jeronimo
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Biosciences Center, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Natal, RN, Brazil, 59078.
authors.forename: Maria De Fátima F M
authors.initials: Mde F
authors.lastname: Ximenes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D058507:Host Specificity; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D018314:Leishmania infantum; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000635:transmission; D010058:Oviposition; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D045303:Cytochromes b