Dr. Jimena Leyria, PDF, researches "What happens after a blood meal"
Hot off the Presses
This week we feature Dr. Jimena Leyria’s paper (PDF, Lange & Orchard Lab) published by PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008516
The blood-sucking hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus is one of the main vectors of Chagas disease. The blood meal is an event with a high epidemiological impact since adult mated females take several blood meals, with each meal resulting in the laying of a batch of eggs, thereby resulting in hundreds of offspring. This work describes an in-depth central nervous system (CNS), ovary and fat body (multifunctional organ analogous to vertebrate adipose tissue and liver) transcriptome analysis, focusing on transcripts related to blood intake which may be relevant in promoting egg production. To date, the principle focus in Chagas disease prevention is on the elimination of triatomine vectors and their progeny. This work will serve as a starting point for initiating novel investigations on targets identified with a potential for use in vector control; for example, using specific genes to generated symbiont-mediated RNAi, a powerful technology which provides a novel means in biocontrol against tropical disease vectors.