title: Ecology of Trypanosoma cruzi I genotypes across Rhodnius prolixus captured in Attalea butyracea palms.
abstract: Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease exhibits significant genetic diversity. This parasite is divided into six discrete typing units (DTUs) where T. cruzi I (TcI) is the most widespread in the Americas. TcI genotypes have been associated to domestic and sylvatic cycles of transmission (TcIDomand sylvatic TcI). Due to the importance of the enzootic transmission, we determined the frequency of TcI genotypes present in Rhodnius prolixus captured in different regions of the palm A. butyracea to understand the ecology of the disease and the importance of A. butyracea palms as ecotopes of R. prolixus. Forty A. butyracea palms were sampled (base crown, mid-point and crown) capturing 105 individuals identified as R. prolixus by morphological and molecular barcoding. We conducted molecular detection and typing of T. cruzi across 59 individuals. The results showed that all the insects were infected with TcI; 28.57% were sylvatic TcI, 12.38% TcIDomand 15,24% mixed infections (TcIDom/sylvatic TcI). Statistical analysis showed a similar behavior between TcIDomand mixed infections in the mid-point and at the crown of the palm, being more frequent in the crown, while sylvatic TcI does not seem to have a specific association with any of the sampled areas. These findings are consistent with other studies showing high mobility of the insect vector between different ecotopes, increasing the need to develop improvements in the programs of disease control.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones Microbiológicas - UR (GIMUR), Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poveda
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones Microbiológicas - UR (GIMUR), Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Higuera
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones Biológicas de la Orinoquia, Unitrópico, Yopal, Colombia.
authors.forename: Plutarco
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Urbano
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigaciones Microbiológicas - UR (GIMUR), Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia. Electronic address: juand.ramirez@urosario.edu.co.
authors.forename: Juan David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Ramírez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D028023:Arecaceae / Q000469:parasitology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission*; D003105:Colombia; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007300:Insect Control / Q000458:organization & administration; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000469:parasitology*; D012239:Rhodnius / Q000469:parasitology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan
keywords: A. butyracea; Chagas disease; DTUs; Domestic cycle; R. prolixus; Sylvatic cycle; T. cruzi