ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2015
Trypanosomes Modify the Behavior of Their Insect Hosts: Effects on Locomotion and on the Expression of a Related Gene.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Temperature variability increases Trypanosoma cruzi load but not the extrinsic incubation period in Triatoma infestans.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Rhodnius prolixus impairs Trypanosoma cruzi growth through cold-seeking behavioral thermoregulation.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Dangerous appetite: The impact of Trypanosoma cruzi infection on the feeding and defecation behaviors of Triatoma dimidiata sensu lato (Latreille, 1811).PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Trypanosoma cruzi infection enhances olfactory response in Triatoma pallidipennis Stål (Hemiptera: Triatominae) to compounds potentially useful for insect control.Medical and veterinary entomology · 2025Article
- Trypanosoma cruzi reprograms mitochondrial metabolism within the anterior midgut of its vector Rhodnius prolixus during the early stages of infection.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Article
- Effects of mating on female reproductive physiology in the insect model, Rhodnius prolixus, a vector of the causative parasite of Chagas disease.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Global characterization of gene expression in the brain of starved immature Rhodnius prolixus.PloS one · 2023Article
- Article
- Does Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909) (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) modify the antennal phenotype of Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811) (Hemiptera: Triatominae)?Parasites & vectors · 2022Article
- The Parasite Load ofMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Article
- Article
- Trypanosoma cruzi-infected Rhodnius prolixus endure increased predation facilitating parasite transmission to mammal hosts.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Thermal performance of the Chagas disease vector, Triatoma infestans, under thermal variability.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- An Update on the Knowledge of Parasite-Vector Interactions of Chagas Disease.Research and reports in tropical medicine · 2021Review
- Vector competence and feeding-excretion behavior of Triatoma rubrovaria (Blanchard, 1843) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) infected with Trypanosoma cruzi TcVI.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Behavioural effects of the common brain-infecting parasite Pseudoloma neurophilia in laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio).Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Natural infection by the protozoan Leptomonas wallacei impacts the morphology, physiology, reproduction, and lifespan of the insect Oncopeltus fasciatus.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Alteration of the aggregation and spatial organization of the vector of Chagas disease, Triatoma infestans, by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.Scientific reports · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs a result of evolution, the biology of triatomines must have been significantly adapted to accommodate trypanosome infection in a complex network of vector-vertebrate-parasite interactions. Arthropod-borne parasites have probably developed mechanisms, largely still unknown, to exploit the vector-vertebrate host interactions to ensure their transmission to suitable hosts. Triatomines exhibit a strong negative phototaxis and nocturnal activity, believed to be important for insect survival against its predators. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsIn this study we quantified phototaxis and locomotion in starved fifth instar nymphs of Rhodnius prolixus infected with Trypanosoma cruzi or Trypanosoma rangeli. T. cruzi infection did not alter insect phototaxis, but induced an overall 20% decrease in the number of bug locomotory events. Furthermore, the significant differences induced by this parasite were concentrated at the beginning of the scotophase. Conversely, T. rangeli modified both behaviors, as it significantly decreased bug negative phototaxis, while it induced a 23% increase in the number of locomotory events in infected bugs. In this case, the significant effects were observed during the photophase. We also investigated the expression of Rpfor, the triatomine ortholog of the foraging gene known to modulate locomotion in other insects, and found a 4.8 fold increase for T. rangeli infected insects. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrated for the first time that trypanosome infection modulates the locomotory activity of the invertebrate host. T. rangeli infection seems to be more broadly effective, as besides affecting the intensity of locomotion this parasite also diminished negative phototaxis and the expression of a behavior-associated gene in the triatomine vector.
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