GENETICS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF SANDFLY DISEASE VECTORS

该项目的长期目标是研究遗传学和 白蛉科白蛉的地理分布（双翅目：白蛉科） 之甚少 了解这一重要昆虫群体的遗传学，其中的成员 作为利什曼病、巴尔通体病和许多虫媒病毒的载体 疾病初步研究将集中在Lutzomyia longipalpis和L. shannoni，两个物种已被牵连作为载体， 利什曼病，在美洲有非常广泛的地理范围。 拟议的项目涉及实地和实验室研究。 L. longipalpis和L. shannoni将是 在它们的地理范围内产生;生物化学和形态学 这两个物种的关键将被开发，以及各种地理 分布的参数。每个样本的基因图谱 将使用酶电泳构建。 独特的地理和 L.遗传群体也将比较长须的 对病原体恰加斯利什曼原虫感染的易感性 新世界内脏利什曼病基因图谱将被构建， 两个医学上重要的白蛉属（Lutzomyia和Phlebotomus）， 基于生化标记染色体数目重组 频率和连锁图谱。后一项工作将利用实验室 在耶鲁虫媒病毒研究所的白蛉群。 该项目是耶鲁大学科学家们的合作成果 哥伦比亚波哥大国立卫生研究所，但 美国和拉丁美洲的一些其他白蛉专家将 协助现场收集。

The long-term objective of this project is to study the genetics and biogeography of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: psychodidae). Little is known about the genetics of this important insect group, members of which serve as vectors of leishmaniasis, bartonellosis and a number of arboviral diseases. Initial studies will focus on Lutzomyia longipalpis and L. shannoni, two species which have been implicated as vectors of leishmaniasis and which have a very wide geographic range in the Americas. The proposed project involves both field and laboratory studies. Representative field collections of L. longipalpis and L. shannoni will be made throughout their geographic ranges; biochemical and morphological keys to both species will be developed as well as various geographic parameters of their distribution. Genetic profiles for each collection will be constructed using enzyme electrophoresis. Distinct geographic and genetic populations of L. longipalpis will also be compared for their susceptibility to infection with Leishmania chagasi, the etiologic agent of New World visceral leishmaniasis. Genetic maps will be constructed for the two medically important sand fly genera (Lutzomyia and Phlebotomus), based on biochemical markers, chromosome numbers, recombination frequencies and linkage maps. The latter work will utilize laboratory colonies of sand flies maintained at the Yale Arbovirus Research Unit. The project is a collaborative effort between scientists at Yale University and the Instituto Nacional de Salud in Bogota, Colombia, but a number of other sand fly specialists in the U.S. and Latin America will assist with the field collections.