TY - JOUR
T1 - Natural infection by the protozoan Leptomonas wallacei impacts the morphology, physiology, reproduction, and lifespan of the insect Oncopeltus fasciatus
AU - Vasconcellos, Luiz Ricardo C.
AU - Carvalho, Luiz Max F.
AU - Silveira, Fernanda A.M.
AU - Gonçalves, Inês C.
AU - Coelho, Felipe S.
AU - Talyuli, Octávio A.C.
AU - Alves e Silva, Thiago L.
AU - Bastos, Leonardo S.
AU - Sorgine, Marcos H.F.
AU - Reis, Leonan A.
AU - Dias, Felipe A.
AU - Struchiner, Claudio J.
AU - Gazos-Lopes, Felipe
AU - Lopes, Angela H.
PY - 2019/11/25
Y1 - 2019/11/25
N2 - Trypanosomatids are protozoan parasites that infect thousands of globally dispersed hosts, potentially affecting their physiology. Several species of trypanosomatids are commonly found in phytophagous insects. Leptomonas wallacei is a gut-restricted insect trypanosomatid only retrieved from Oncopeltus fasciatus. The insects get infected by coprophagy and transovum transmission of L. wallacei cysts. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of a natural infection by L. wallacei on the hemipteran insect O. fasciatus, by comparing infected and uninfected individuals in a controlled environment. The L. wallacei-infected individuals showed reduced lifespan and morphological alterations. Also, we demonstrated a higher infection burden in females than in males. The infection caused by L. wallacei reduced host reproductive fitness by negatively impacting egg load, oviposition, and eclosion, and promoting an increase in egg reabsorption. Moreover, we associated the egg reabsorption observed in infected females, with a decrease in the intersex gene expression. Finally, we suggest alterations in population dynamics induced by L. wallacei infection using a mathematical model. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that L. wallacei infection negatively affected the physiology of O. fasciatus, which suggests that L. wallacei potentially has a vast ecological impact on host population growth.
AB - Trypanosomatids are protozoan parasites that infect thousands of globally dispersed hosts, potentially affecting their physiology. Several species of trypanosomatids are commonly found in phytophagous insects. Leptomonas wallacei is a gut-restricted insect trypanosomatid only retrieved from Oncopeltus fasciatus. The insects get infected by coprophagy and transovum transmission of L. wallacei cysts. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of a natural infection by L. wallacei on the hemipteran insect O. fasciatus, by comparing infected and uninfected individuals in a controlled environment. The L. wallacei-infected individuals showed reduced lifespan and morphological alterations. Also, we demonstrated a higher infection burden in females than in males. The infection caused by L. wallacei reduced host reproductive fitness by negatively impacting egg load, oviposition, and eclosion, and promoting an increase in egg reabsorption. Moreover, we associated the egg reabsorption observed in infected females, with a decrease in the intersex gene expression. Finally, we suggest alterations in population dynamics induced by L. wallacei infection using a mathematical model. Collectively, our findings demonstrated that L. wallacei infection negatively affected the physiology of O. fasciatus, which suggests that L. wallacei potentially has a vast ecological impact on host population growth.
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-019-53678-1
DO - 10.1038/s41598-019-53678-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 31767875
AN - SCOPUS:85075549990
VL - 9
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
IS - 1
M1 - 17468
ER -