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Carbajal-de-la-Fuente AL, Piccinali RV, Porcasi X, Marti GA, de Arias AR, Abrahan L, Suárez FC, Lobbia P, Medina G, Provecho Y, Cortez MR, Soria N, Gonçalves TC, Nattero J. Variety is the spice: The role of morphological variation of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) at a macro-scale. Acta Trop 2024; 256:107239. [PMID: 38735448 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2024.107239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909). One of the primary vectors of T. cruzi in South America is Triatoma infestans (Klug, 1834). This triatomine species is distributed across a huge latitudinal gradient, inhabiting domiciliary , peridomiciliary , and wild environments. Its wide geographic distribution provides an excellent opportunity to study the relationships between environmental gradients and intraspecific morphological variation. In this study, we investigated variations in wing size and shape in T. infestans across six ecoregions. We aimed to address the following questions: How do wing size and shape vary on a regional scale, does morphological variation follow specific patterns along an environmental or latitudinal gradient, and what environmental factors might contribute to wing variation? Geometric morphometric methods were applied to the wings of 162 females belonging to 21 T. infestans populations, 13 from Argentina (n = 105), 5 from Bolivia (n = 42), and 3 from Paraguay (n = 15). A comparison of wing centroid size across the 21 populations showed significant differences. Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) revealed significant differences in wing shape between the populations from Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, although there was a considerable overlap, especially among the Argentinian populations. Well-structured populations were observed for the Bolivian and Paraguayan groups. Two analyses were performed to assess the association between wing size and shape, geographic and climatic variables: multiple linear regression analysis (MRA) for size and Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression for shape. The MRA showed a significant general model fit. Six temperature-related variables, one precipitation-related variable, and the latitude showed significant associations with wing size. The PLS analysis revealed a significant correlation between wing shape with latitude, longitude, temperature-related, and rainfall-related variables. Wing size and shape in T. infestans populations varied across geographic distribution. Our findings demonstrate that geographic and climatic variables significantly influence T. infestans wing morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Laura Carbajal-de-la-Fuente
- Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigación en Endemo-epidemias (CENDIE/ ANLIS-Malbrán). Av. Paseo Colón 568, CP 1063, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, CP 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Romina V Piccinali
- Laboratorio de Eco-Epidemiología, DEGE (FCEN, UBA), IEGEBA (UBA/CONICET), Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Ciudad Universitaria - Pabellón 2, CP 1428, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ximena Porcasi
- Instituto Gulich (CONAE UNC), Ruta C45 Km 8, CP 5187, Falda del Cañete, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Gerardo Aníbal Marti
- Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE) CCT-La Plata CONICET-UNLP-asociado a CIC, Blvd. 120 y 60 CP 1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Antonieta Rojas de Arias
- Centro para el Desarrollo de la Investigación Científica (CEDIC), Manduvirá 635 entre 15 de agosto y Oleary, CP 1255, Asunción, Paraguay
| | - Luciana Abrahan
- Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja (CRILAR), UNLAR, SEGEMAR, UNCa, CONICET, Entre Ríos y Mendoza s/n, Anillaco, CP 5301, La Rioja, Provincia de La Rioja, Argentina
| | - Florencia Cano Suárez
- Programa Provincial Control de Vectores, Ministerio de Salud Pública San Juan. Santa Fe 977 (este) predio Hospital Dr Guillermo Rawson, CP 5400, San Juan, Argentina
| | - Patricia Lobbia
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, CP 1425, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Unidad Operativa de Vectores y Ambiente (UNOVE), Centro Nacional de Diagnóstico e Investigación en Endemo-epidemias (CENDIE / ANLIS-Malbrán), Pabellón Rawson s/n. Hospital Colonia, CP 2423, Santa María de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Gabriela Medina
- Dirección de Control Integral de Vectores y Zoonosis. Laboratorio Entomológico y Parasitológico. Ministerio de Salud de Catamarca, Chacabuco 169, CP 4700, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Argentina
| | - Yael Provecho
- Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, Dirección de Control de Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vectores. Av. 9 de Julio 1925, CP 1073, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mirko Rojas Cortez
- Fundación Salud Naturaleza Integral (SANIT), Pasaje Fidelia de Sanchez 433, CP 00591, Cochabamba, Bolivia
| | - Nicolás Soria
- División Manejo Integrado de Vectores, Departamento de Zoonosis, Dirección de Jurisdicción de Epidemiología, Ministerio de Salud de la Provincia de Córdoba, Santiago Cáceres 1885, CP 5000, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Teresa C Gonçalves
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Vigilância Entomológica em Diptera e Hemiptera. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC/ Fundação Oswaldo Cruz). Av. Brasil, 4365, Manguinhos, CP 21040-360, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
| | - Julieta Nattero
- Laboratorio de Eco-Epidemiología, DEGE (FCEN, UBA), IEGEBA (UBA/CONICET), Intendente Güiraldes 2160 - Ciudad Universitaria - Pabellón 2, CP 1428, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Morphological Stasis in Time? A Triatoma brasiliensis brasiliensis Study Using Geometric Morphometrics in the Long Run. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12111362. [PMID: 35681826 PMCID: PMC9179344 DOI: 10.3390/ani12111362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Triatomines are vector insects capable of transmitting the protozoan that causes Chagas disease, thus representing a health risk in several countries, especially in Central and South America. Triatoma brasiliensis brasiliensis, the main triatomine vector in northeastern Brazil, needs frequent monitoring as it is able to colonize various natural and artificial ecotopes as well as to infest domiciles. This research uses geometric morphometrics as a tool to evaluate changes in the morphology and analyze a large temporal dataset of 102 years of collections of T. b. brasiliensis. Finding novelty results which indicate a morphological stasis in the morphology. Abstract Triatoma brasiliensis brasiliensis Neiva, 1911 is one of the most important vectors of Chagas disease in the Brazilian semiarid regions in the north-east. The risk imposed by T. b. brasiliensis to the human populations, due to frequent invasions and/or colonization of the domiciles, demands constant monitoring and control actions as well as an understanding of its evolutionary process. In this context, the following research studies the pattern of shape adaptation over time using a large dataset from 102 years of specimen collections in order to identify the morphological plasticity of this vector in Brazil. This dataset was analyzed using geometric morphometrics tools and the timescale was divided into eight different groups, containing specimens from 1912 to 2014. Geometric morphometrics analysis showed an interesting morphological stasis in the wing shape of T. b. brasiliensis, which allowed us to understand the high capacity of adaptation to changes in climate condition through time, and the invasive status which Triatoma species have around the world. Moreover, these results showed novel findings as an interesting phenotypic pattern, with no modifications in more than 100 years, leading us to understand the shape evolution in Triatominae as a vector species of diseases.
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Insect Fluctuating Asymmetry: An Example in Bolivian Peridomestic Populations of Triatoma infestans (Klug, 1834) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14030526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is a morphometric tool used to measure developmental instability in organisms which have been exposed to stress or other adverse conditions. Phenotypic variability in response to stressors are the result of interactions between genomes and the environment, acting in a noisy developmental system. Most of the organisms have bilateral symmetry with a repetition of structures in different positions or orientations; asymmetrical variation has been a morphological response associated with insecticide application inducing disturbances in endocrinal system product of the chemicals. Triatoma infestans (is the main vector of Chagas disease in South America. The availability of food sources varies for populations of T. infestans living in different habitats; insects that inhabit the intradomicile feed preferentially on human blood, whereas insects that develop in the peridomicile feed on the blood of the other mammals and birds. The following research evaluate the FA to the different ecotopes in two geographical areas of Chuquisaca Bolivia; Yamparáez/Sotomayor of the high inter-Andean valleys and Huacaya/Imbochi of the boreal Chaco and a CIPEIN laboratory strain population. A combination of advanced morphometrics tools and multivariate analysis were used to quantify the levels of asymmetry produced by pyretroid near to the peridomiciles in Bolivia. Populations from Yamparáez/Sotomayor were found to have higher levels of FA which the combination of environmental conditions such as low temperatures avoid greater permanence in the habitat and more exposition to insecticide. A better understanding of the combination of these tools will allow researchers to implement better public policies to regulate insecticide applications and to understand how certain organisms adapt to multiple stressors.
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Nattero J, Mougabure-Cueto G, Debat V, Gürtler RE. Phenotypic plasticity, canalisation and developmental stability of Triatoma infestans wings: effects of a sublethal application of a pyrethroid insecticide. Parasit Vectors 2021; 14:355. [PMID: 34229739 PMCID: PMC8259426 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04857-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Triatomine control campaigns have traditionally consisted of spraying the inside of houses with pyrethroid insecticides. However, exposure to sublethal insecticide doses after the initial application is a common occurrence and may have phenotypic consequences for survivors. Here, using Triatoma infestans (the main vector of Chagas disease in the Southern Cone of South America) as a model species, we quantified the effects of exposure to a sublethal dose of pyrethroid insecticide on wing morphology. We tested if the treatment (i) induced a plastic effect (change in the character mean); (ii) altered environmental canalisation (higher individual variation within genotypes); (iii) altered genetic canalisation (higher variation among genotypes); and (iv) altered developmental stability (higher fluctuating asymmetry [FA]). METHODS Each of 25 full-sib families known to be susceptible to pyrethroid insecticides were split in two groups: one to be treated with a sublethal dose of deltamethrin (insecticide-treated group) and the other to be treated with pure acetone (control group). Wings of the emerging adults were used in a landmark-based geometric morphometry analysis to extract size and shape measurements. Average differences among treatments were measured. Levels of variation among families, among individuals within families and among sides within individuals were computed and compared among treatments. RESULTS Wing size and shape were affected by a sublethal dose of deltamethrin. The treated insects had larger wings and a more variable wing size and shape than control insects. For both wing size and shape, genetic variation was higher in treated individuals. Individual variations and variations in FA were also greater in deltamethrin-treated insects than in control ones for all full-sib families; however, the patterns of shape variation associated with genetic variation, individual variation and FA were different. CONCLUSIONS Insects exposed to a sublethal dose of deltamethrin presented larger, less symmetrical and less canalised wings. The insecticide treatment jointly impaired developmental stability and genetic and environmental canalisation. The divergent patterns of shape variation suggest that the related developmental buffering processes differed at least partially. The morphological modifications induced by a single sublethal exposure to pyrethroids early in life may impinge on subsequent flight performance and consequently affect the dynamics of house invasion and reinfestation, and the effectiveness of triatomine control operations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta Nattero
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución/Laboratorio de Eco-Epidemiología, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución (CONICET-IEGEBA), CONICET–Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gastón Mougabure-Cueto
- Laboratorio de Investigación en Triatominos (LIT), Centro de Referencia de Vectores (CeReVe), Ministerio de Salud de La Nación, Santa María de Punilla, Córdoba, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Vincent Debat
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB) (UMR7205), CNMuséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE) and Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | - Ricardo E. Gürtler
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución/Laboratorio de Eco-Epidemiología, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución (CONICET-IEGEBA), CONICET–Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Vilaseca C, Méndez MA, Pinto CF, Lemic D, Benítez HA. Unraveling the Morphological Variation of Triatoma infestans in the Peridomestic Habitats of Chuquisaca Bolivia: A Geometric Morphometric Approach. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12020185. [PMID: 33671621 PMCID: PMC7926573 DOI: 10.3390/insects12020185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Morphometrics has been used on Triatomines, a well-known phenotypically variable insect, to understand the process of morphological plasticity and infer the changes of this phenomenon. The following research was carried out in two regions of the inter-Andean valleys and two Chaco regions of Chuquisaca-Bolivia. Triatoma infestans adults were collected from the peridomestic (pens and chicken coops) along a geographic gradient in order to evaluate the morphological differentiation between groups and their pattern of sexual shape dimorphism. Geometric morphometric methods were applied on the wings and heads of T. infestans. The main findings include that we proved sexual dimorphism in heads and wings, determined the impact of environmental factors on size and shape and validated the impact of nutrition on head shape variation. These results show that geometric morphometric procedures can be used to provide key insight into the biological adaptation of T. infestans on different biotic (nutrition) and abiotic (environment) conditions, which could serve in understanding and evaluating infestation processes and further vector control programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Vilaseca
- Laboratorio de Ecología Química, Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, Sucre, Bolivia; (C.V.); (C.F.P.)
| | - Marco A. Méndez
- Laboratorio de Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 6640022, Chile;
| | - Carlos F. Pinto
- Laboratorio de Ecología Química, Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, Sucre, Bolivia; (C.V.); (C.F.P.)
| | - Darija Lemic
- Department of Agricultural Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | - Hugo A. Benítez
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Morfometría Evolutiva, Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3466706, Chile
- Correspondence:
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Sunny A, Domínguez-Vega H, Caballero-Viñas C, Ramírez-Corona F, Suárez-Atilano M, González-Fernández A. A Salamander tale: Relative abundance, morphometrics and microhabitat of the critically endangered Mexican salamander Pseudoeurycea robertsi (Taylor, 1939). HERPETOZOA 2021. [DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.34.e54926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Roberts’ False Brook Salamander (Pseudoeurycea robertsi) is a critically endangered plethodontid salamander, endemic to the Nevado de Toluca Volcano (NTV), Mexico. Little is known about the biology and ecology of this species, including its microhabitats. Thus, this study aimed to collect basic information about P. robertsi. We sampled fourteen forested sites in the NTV; to corroborate the correct identification of the species we used genetic data, we assessed the variation in head morphometric measurements and dorsal colouration patterns amongst localities and the microhabitat features associated with P. robertsi presence. Of the four potential salamander species, P. robertsi was the most abundant (89.80%) and widely distributed (approximately within 130 km2) salamander in the NTV. We did not find significant variations in morphometry; however, we found significant differences in dorsal patterns between populations (in the number and size of segments of the dorsal stripe). The average total length for 185 adults was 89.15 mm (38.7–117.9 mm); we found seven patterns of dorsal stripe. We found 98% of P. robertsi individuals under the bark of fallen logs in Abies religiosa and A. religiosa-Pinus sp. forests, with a higher number of detected salamanders in naturally-fallen logs than in cut logs (34% vs. 10%). Thus, keeping well-preserved A. religiosa forests and retaining fallen logs is essential to P. robertsi conservation.
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Benítez HA, Sukhodolskaya RA, Órdenes-Clavería R, Avtaeva TA, Kushalieva SA, Saveliev AA. Measuring the Inter and Intraspecific Sexual Shape Dimorphism and Body Shape Variation in Generalist Ground Beetles in Russia. INSECTS 2020; 11:insects11060361. [PMID: 32531974 PMCID: PMC7349662 DOI: 10.3390/insects11060361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Ground beetles in multiple species vary greatly in the expression of the shape on sexual traits, resulting in a sexual shape dimorphism as a consequence of sexual selection differences. The present research focuses on the study of inter and intrasexual sexual shape dimorphism of two generalist genera of ground beetles Pterostichus and Carabus. Geometric morphometric methods were applied to five generalist species of ground beetles Carabus exaratus, C. granulatus, Pterostichus melanarius, P. niger, and P. oblongopunctatus and several multivariate analyses were applied for two different traits, abdomen and elytra. Three of the five species analyzed showed high levels of sex-based shape dimorphism. However, the most generalist species, P. melanarius and P. oblongopunctatus, did not evidence shape-based sexual dimorphism differentiation in both of the analyzed traits, as statistically confirmed based on the permutation of pairwise comparison of the Mahalanobis distances of a sex–species classifier. It is generally known that environmental stress in natural populations can affect the fitness expression, principally related to sexual fecundity, being that this pattern is more evident in non-generalist species. In our results, the contrary pattern was found, with the absence of sexual shape dimorphism for two of the three generalist species analyzed. On the other hand, the interspecies shape variation was clearly identified using principal component analysis of both of the analyzed traits. Finally, this research is the first to analyze the relationship between sexual shape dimorphism in Russian ground beetles, evidencing the lack of understanding of the mechanism underlying the sexual dimorphism, especially in species living in extreme environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo A. Benítez
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Morfometría Evolutiva, Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3466706, Chile;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +56-978895630
| | - Raisa A. Sukhodolskaya
- Institute of Ecology and Mineral Resource Management Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan Republic, Tatarstan, Kazan 420000, Russia;
| | - Rodrigo Órdenes-Clavería
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Morfometría Evolutiva, Centro de Investigación de Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3466706, Chile;
| | - Tamara A. Avtaeva
- Kh. Ibragimov Complex Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Grozny 364014, Russia;
| | - Shapaat A. Kushalieva
- Department of Biology and Methods of Teaching (Head), Chechen State Pedagogical University, Grozny 364014, Russia;
| | - Anatoly A. Saveliev
- Department of Ecosystem Modeling, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Kazan 420000, Russia;
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