Olfactory and behavioral responses of kissing bugs (Reduviidae: Triatominae), vec

描述（由申请人提供）：锥蝽，俗称吻蝽、赤蝽、赤蝽、赤蝽，是吸血昆虫，是原生动物寄生虫克氏锥虫的载体，是恰加斯病的病原体。这种疾病在墨西哥、中美洲和南美洲流行，影响约1100万至1300万人。控制恰加斯病主要取决于通过使用残留杀虫剂和筛查血库克氏锥虫感染来消除病媒。阻断恰加斯病的病媒传播需要持续的昆虫学监测，即使在国内病媒正在消灭或已经消灭的国家也是如此，因为许多野生动物充当宿主，许多可能成为定居的锥蝽科动物传播寄生虫。监测可以通过主动探测昆虫存在的方法有效实现，例如使用气味诱捕器。这种方法可以在采取干预措施之前有效地监测房屋中昆虫的存在情况。此外，在某些情况下（例如，在昆虫种群密度低的情况下），使用诱捕器有助于防治工作，从而减少不良杀虫剂的使用。锥蝽主要依靠嗅觉线索寻找寄主。对这些昆虫嗅觉系统的生理学和作用的研究将为开发气味诱捕器提供知识。开发这些监测和控制工具的第一步是确定有吸引力的动物气味的化学成分。本研究将采用气相色谱（GC）和嗅觉受体细胞电生理记录相结合的方法，对恰加斯病主要媒介之一的长角鼻虫（Rhodnius prolixus）嗅觉系统检测到的天然宿主气味的化学成分进行表征。此外，我们将把这项技术与来自触角叶（AL；昆虫的初级嗅觉中心）神经元的多通道电生理记录相结合。这项最先进的技术（我们已经在我们的实验室中成功地使用了这项技术）将使我们能够探测气味信息在人工智能中是如何表示的。此外，由于orc与人工智能神经元的高度收敛，在嗅觉处理的这个中心水平上，对气味的神经反应是高度敏感的，因此人工智能记录将使我们能够高效、高灵敏度地检测到自然气味的活性成分。我们将使用GC-联用质谱（GC- ms）来鉴定活性化合物，这也是我们实验室建立的一种技术。在确定生物活性气味后，我们将开发有吸引力的合成气味混合物。为了实现这一目标，将通过AL神经元的电生理记录和使用双选择嗅觉仪的行为分析来评估不同混合物的效率。利用大脑神经元的记录与分析化学技术相结合来识别有效的引诱剂混合物是新颖的，并且正在我们的实验室中开发。最终，有效的化学引诱剂可以作为诱捕器的诱饵，在房屋内或周围灵敏地探测和诱捕三蝽。公共卫生相关性：锥蝽虫是恰加斯病的吸血媒介，恰加斯病是一种影响美洲1100多万人的寄生虫感染。完全和持续地阻断这些昆虫的疾病传播需要改进昆虫学监测，这可以通过使用自然引诱剂（如宿主气味）主动检测昆虫存在的方法（如气味诱捕器）有效地实现。我们建议采用神经生理学、分析化学和行为学等方法，对该疾病主要媒介之一的长尾红蝇（Rhodnius prolixus）使用的气味引诱剂进行识别，以寻找其宿主，并将其作为诱捕诱饵。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Triatomine bugs, commonly known as kissing bugs, vinchuca, chipo, barbeiro, are blood-sucking insects, vectors of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas Disease. This Disease is endemic in Mexico, Central and South America and affects about 11-13 million people. Control of Chagas Disease depends mainly on the elimination of vectors through use of residual insecticides and screening of blood banks for infection with T. cruzi. Interruption of vectorial transmission of Chagas Disease requires continuous entomological surveillance even in countries where the domestic vectors are in the process of being eliminated or have been eliminated because many wild animals act as reservoir hosts and many species of triatominae that could become domiciliated transmit the parasite. Surveillance could be effectively achieved by methods that actively detect the presence of insects, e.g. using odor-baited traps. Such methods would allow efficient monitoring of houses for the presence of the insects prior to application of intervention measures. In addition, the use of traps could contribute to control efforts under certain circumstances (e.g., under conditions of low insect population density), thus reducing the use of undesirable insecticides. Triatomine insects rely mainly on olfactory cues to find their hosts. Studies of the physiology and role of the olfactory system of these insects will provide knowledge that could be used to develop odor-baited traps. An initial step to develop these surveillance and control tools is to identify the chemical constituents of the attractive animal odors. We will use gas chromatography (GC) coupled to electrophysiological recording from olfactory receptor cells (ORCs) to characterize the chemical constituents of natural host odors that are detected by the olfactory system of Rhodnius prolixus, one of the main vectors of Chagas Disease. Moreover, we will couple this technique to multi-channel electrophysiological recordings from neurons in the antennal lobe (AL; the insect's primary olfactory center). This state-of-the-art technique (which we have been using successfully in our laboratory) will allow us to probe how odor information is represented in the AL. Moreover, because neural responses to odors at this central level of olfactory processing are highly sensitive owing to the high degree of convergence of ORCs into AL neurons, AL recordings will allow us to detect active constituents of natural odors efficiently and with high sensitivity. We will identify the active compounds using GC coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), a technique also established in our laboratory. After identifying bioactive odors, we will develop attractive blends of synthetic odorants. To accomplish this, the efficiency of different blends will be evaluated by means of electrophysiological recordings of AL neurons and behavioral assays using dual-choice olfactometers. The use of recordings from brain neurons coupled to analytical chemical techniques to identify efficient attractant blends is novel and is being developed in our laboratory. Ultimately, efficient chemical attractants could serve as lures in traps for sensitive detection and trapping of triatomines in or around houses. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Triatomine bugs are blood-sucking vectors of Chagas Disease, a parasitic infection that affects more than 11 million people in the Americas. Complete and continuous interruption of disease transmission by these insects requires improvement of entomological surveillance, which could be effectively achieved by methods (e.g. odor-baited traps) that use natural attractants (e.g. host-odors) actively to detect the presence of the insects. We propose to use neurophysiological, analytical chemical, and behavioral methods to identify odor attractants used by Rhodnius prolixus, one of the main vectors of the disease, to find its hosts and that can be used as trap lures.