Gut microbiome of Triatominae under hemolymphoph diet and starving conditions
Triatominae (family: Reduviidae) vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. While most Reduviidae are hemolymphophagous, Triatominae are hematophagous parasites. Some Triatominae species have been shown to revert back, at least partially, to hemolymphophagy. The goal of this study is to assess the ability of additional Triatominae species to feed on hemolymph, and the impact of this diet on survival and moulting rates. The observational study is complemented with the sequencing of the gut microbiome of starved and hemolymph-fed individuals through 16S amplicon sequencing.