Abstract
Rhodnius prolixus is the main vector of Chagas disease in Venezuela, where it is found colonising rural housing consisting of unplastered adobe walls with palm and/or metal roofs. Vector control failure in Venezuela may be due to the invasion of houses by silvatic populations of R. prolixus found in palms. As part of a study to determine if domestic and silvatic populations of R. prolixus are isolated, thus clarifying the role of silvatic populations in maintaining house infestations, we constructed three partial genomic microsatellite libraries. A panel of ten dinucleotide polymorphic microsatellite markers was selected for genotyping. Allele numbers per locus ranged from three to twelve, with observed and expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.26 to 0.55 and 0.32 to 0.66. The microsatellite markers presented here will contribute to the control of Chagas disease in Venezuela and Colombia through the provision of population information that may allow the design of improved control strategies.
Highlights
Chagas disease is a chronic parasitic disease resulting from an infection of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi
Rhodnius prolixus is the main vector of Chagas disease in Venezuela, where it is found infesting rural houses often formed from unplastered adobe walls with palm and/or metal roofs (Aché and Matos, 2001)
We developed a panel of ten polymorphic microsatellite markers for R. prolixus as part of a study to quantify the level of gene flow between silvatic and domestic R. prolixus populations in five Venezuelan States
Summary
Chagas disease is a chronic parasitic disease resulting from an infection of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. Rhodnius prolixus is the main vector of Chagas disease in Venezuela, where it is found infesting rural houses often formed from unplastered adobe walls with palm and/or metal roofs (Aché and Matos, 2001). Despite four decades of vector control using residual insecticide, domestic infestations of R. prolixus persist and transmission of T. cruzi may be increasing (Feliciangeli et al, 2003). This is in contrast to the Southern Cone initiative which has successfully eliminated Triatoma infestans from many endemic regions (Dias et al, 2002), with the notable exception of Bolivia. In the Bolivian Andes and the Gran Chaco (Bolivia and northern Argentina) silvatic populations of T. infestans occur and may pose a risk to effective disease control in these regions (Noireau et al, 2005). We developed a panel of ten polymorphic microsatellite markers for R. prolixus as part of a study to quantify the level of gene flow between silvatic and domestic R. prolixus populations in five Venezuelan States
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