Abstract
BackgroundTriatomines, which are the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, have been considered to be exclusive blood feeders for more than 100 years, since the discovery of Chagas disease.MethodsWe offered artificial sugar meals to the laboratory model-insect Rhodnius prolixus, which is considered a strict haematophagous insect. We registered feeding by adding colorant to sugar meals. To assess putative phytophagy, fruits of the tomato Solanum lycopersicum were offered to R. prolixus and the presence of tomato DNA was assessed in the insects using PCR. We also assessed longevity, blood feeding and urine production of fruit-exposed triatomines and control insects.ResultsAll instars of R. prolixus ingested sugar from artificial sugar meals in laboratory conditions. First instar R. prolixus ingested plant tissue from S. lycopersicum fruits, and this increased the amount of blood ingested and urine excreted. Decreased mortality was also observed after blood feeding. Exposure to S. lycopersicum increased longevity and reduced weight loss caused by desiccation.ConclusionsWe describe here the first report of sugar feeding and phytophagy in a species that was considered to be a strict blood-feeder for over a century. We suggest that local plants might be not merely shelters for insects and vertebrate hosts as previously described, but may have a nutritional role for the maintenance of the triatomine vectors. The description of sugar and plant meals in triatomines opens new perspectives for the study and control of Chagas Disease.
Highlights
Triatomines, which are the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, have been considered to be exclusive blood feeders for more than 100 years, since the discovery of Chagas disease
We investigated if phytophagy could have an impact on the fitness of R. prolixus
Rhodnius prolixus actively ingests artificial sugar meals In laboratory conditions, plant sugar meals were mimicked using a piece of cotton wool wetted with a sucrose solution
Summary
Triatomines, which are the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, have been considered to be exclusive blood feeders for more than 100 years, since the discovery of Chagas disease. American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas Disease) is a neglected illness affecting 8 million people mainly in the Americas, but its geographic spread by human migration has gained attention [1]. It is a chronic and severe disease caused by the haemoflagellate Trypanosoma cruzi and there is no vaccine for it [1]. There have been outbreaks in different areas of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela attributed to oral infection associated with consumption of contaminated food, of plant origin, such as sugar cane and fruits such as guava and açai [4,5,6,7,8]
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