BIOLOGY OF LEISHMANIA IN PHLEBOTOMINE SANDFLIES

这个项目的目的是研究人类的生物学 致病性利什曼原虫在其白蛉媒介中的作用。 的 项目涉及寄生虫学、医学、 昆虫学、遗传学、病毒学、生物化学和免疫学。 实验室饲养的白蛉将被实验感染， 不同类型的利什曼原虫和以下方面 将研究昆虫中的寄生虫生物学： 糖在增强或抑制利什曼原虫感染中的作用 白蛉，禽血对寄生虫感染的影响， 媒介，白蛉媒介能力的遗传基础， 白蛉后肠的生物化学和形态学研究， 它在传播乐中的作用。巴西组寄生虫，和 基因重组可能发生在 昆虫媒介中的相关利什曼原虫类型。 一个新 发现的白蛉胞质多角体病毒也将 作为可能的生物防治剂进行了表征和评价 治疗利什曼病

The objective of this project is to study the biology of human pathogenic Leishmania in their phlebotomine sandfly vectors. The project involves the disciplines of parasitology, medical entomology, genetics, virology, biochemistry and immunology. Laboratory-reared sandflies will be experimentally infected, with a number of different Leishmania types and the following aspects of the parasites biology in the insects will be studied: the role of sugars in the enhancement or inhibition of leishmanial infection in sandflies, the effect of avian blood on the parasite infection in the vector, the genetic basis of vector competence in sandflies, biochemical and morphological studies of the sandfly hind gut and its role in the transmission of Le. braziliensis group parasites, and the possibility that genetic recombination might occur among related Leishmania types in the insect vector. A newly discovered sandfly cytoplasmic polyhydrosis virus will also be characterized and evaluated as a possible biological control agent for leishmaniasis.