Banca de DEFESA: LETICIA ABRANTES DE ANDRADE

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : LETICIA ABRANTES DE ANDRADE
DATE: 08/09/2022
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Sala 211 do Bloco Zeta do Campus de São Bernardo do Campo da Universidade Federal do ABC
TITLE:

Investigation of Leishmania species in hematophagous insects: implications for the epidemiology of leishmaniasis

PAGES: 80
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Parasitologia
SUBÁREA: Protozoologia de Parasitos
SPECIALTY: Protozoologia Parasitária Humana
SUMMARY:

 

Leishmaniasis, caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, form a complex of anthropozoonotic diseases characterized by the interaction of parasites, invertebrate vectors, vertebrate hosts and reservoirs, with socio-environmental and human factors. Infected female dipteran insects of the Phlebotominae subfamily transmit the parasite to their vertebrate hosts such as humans and dogs, which can develop two characteristic types of Leishmaniasis, Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (TL) and Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL). Our research group has developed a new method of extracting nucleic acids from a single arthropod specimen, which makes it possible to identify gene fragments of infectious agents in hematophagous dipterous insects, whether they are vectors of these pathogens, or even as sentinels. Knowledge of the circulation of Leishmania parasites in a given area can help public health institutions in planning strategies to control the transmission of TL and VL. Thus, this work aimed to deepen the knowledge about the circulation of species of the genus Leishmania in the city of Marília, São Paulo, using hematophagous insects collected in the Bosque Municipal Rangel Pietraroia as sentinels and the gene that encodes chitinase as a biomarker. Sixty-one hematophagous insects collected in 2018 were investigated (4 from the Ceratopogonidae family, 1 Psycodidae and 56 Culicidae, 45 from the Culicinae subfamily, 28 from the Aedes genus, 8 from the Mansoniini tribe and Mansonia genus and 2 from the Anophelinae subfamily) and 83 collected in 2019. (3 from the Ceratopogonidae family, 4 Psycodidae and 76 Culicidae with prevalence of species of the genera Sabethes and Aedes). Of the 68 insects collected in 2018, eleven insects tested positive for the gene encoding Leishmania chitinase (1 Ceratopogonidae and 10 Culicinae). Of the 83 insects collected in 2019, only one tested positive for chitinase. After cloning and sequencing the PCR fragments obtained, with the exception of a fragment with an unknown sequence in the database (an insect of the tribe Anophelinae), the ten other PCR fragments obtained from insects collected in 2018 showed 97% to 98% similarity with Leishmania species of the subgenera Viannia (6) and Leishmania (4) compared to sequences available in GeneBank by Basic Local Alignment Tool (BLAST). The only chitinase positive insect collected in 2019 showed 100% similarity with L. infantum chagasi. The phylogenetic reconstruction with the gene encoding trypanosomatid chitinase and the presence of positive males and females are indicative of the presence of Leishmania-like parasites in dipterous insects of the Culicidae and Ceratopogonidae families.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Presidente - Interno ao Programa - 1675714 - MARCIA APARECIDA SPERANCA
Membro Titular - Examinador(a) Interno ao Programa - 927.634.300-82 - HELENA BEATRIZ DE CARVALHO RUTHNER BATISTA - UFRGS
Membro Titular - Examinador(a) Externo à Instituição - ALINE DINIZ CABRAL
Membro Suplente - Examinador(a) Interno ao Programa - 1227329 - CESAR AUGUSTO JOAO RIBEIRO
Membro Suplente - Examinador(a) Externo à Instituição - RODRIGO BUZINARO SUZUKI