title: Triatomines (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) blood intake: Physical constraints and biological adaptations.
abstract: In order to efficiently obtain blood from their vertebrate hosts, bloodsucking arthropods have undergone an evolutionary selection process leading to specialist adaptations in their feeding apparatus (mouthparts and suction pumps) and salivary molecules. These adaptations act to counteract haemostasis, inflammation, and immune responses in their vertebrate hosts. The association of haematophagous arthropods with vertebrate hosts during a blood feed allows the transmission of pathogens between their hosts and vectors in a tripartite interaction. Feeding mechanisms in haematophagous arthropod species have been the subject of studies over at least eight decades worldwide, as a consequence of the importance of vector-borne diseases and their impact on human health. Here we review studies of the feeding mechanisms of triatomine bugs, with a particular focus on factors that influence their feeding performance when obtaining a blood meal from different vertebrate hosts.
authors: Laboratório de Fisiologia de Insetos Hematófagos, Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors: Maurício Roberto Viana
authors: MR
authors: Sant'Anna
authors: Laboratório de Fisiologia de Insetos Hematófagos, Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors: Adriana Coelho
authors: AC
authors: Soares
authors: Laboratório de Fisiologia de Insetos Hematófagos, Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors: Ricardo Nascimento
authors: RN
authors: Araujo
authors: Laboratório de Fisiologia de Insetos Hematófagos, Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte CEP 31270-901, Brazil.
authors: Nelder Figueiredo
authors: NF
authors: Gontijo
authors: Laboratório de Fisiologia de Insetos Hematófagos, Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte CEP 31270-901, Brazil. Electronic address: marcoshp@icb.ufmg.br.
authors: Marcos Horácio
authors: MH
authors: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D014224:Triatoma / Q000502:physiology*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology*
keywords: Blood viscosity; Blood-feeding mechanisms; Cibarial pump; Feeding site; Haemostasis; Intestinal environment; Triatomine bugs; Triatomine-host interactions