Abstract

This project is a consortium between scientists at Yale University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. The objective of the project is to study the biology of human pathogenic Leishmania in their phlebotomine sandfly vectors. The project will involve the disciplines of parasitology, medical entomology, genetics, biochemistry and immunology. Laboratory reared sandflies will be experimentally infected with a number of different Leishmania types and the following aspects of the parasites' biology in the insects will be studied: nutritive requirements of promastigotes in vivo, their complete life cycle, their effect on the vector, differences in sandfly infectivity among various parasite strains, genetic basis of vector competence in sandflies, identification of stage and species specific antigens present on promastigotes in vivo, development of an ELISA technique for assaying Leishmania infection in sandflies, and investigation of the possibility that genetic recombination can occur among related Leishmania types in the insect vector.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AI021049-02
Application #
3130955
Study Section
Tropical Medicine and Parasitology Study Section (TMP)
Project Start
1984-07-01
Project End
1987-06-30
Budget Start
1985-07-01
Budget End
1986-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1985
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Yale University
Department
Type
DUNS #
082359691
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code

  Publications

Mukhopadhyay, J; Ghosh, K (1999) Vector potential of Phlebotomus duboscqi and P. papatasi: a comparison of feeding behaviour, reproductive capacity and experimental infection with Leishmania major. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 93:309-18
Ghosh, K N; Mukhopadhyay, J M; Guzman, H et al. (1999) Interspecific hybridization and genetic variability of Phlebotomus sandflies. Med Vet Entomol 13:78-88
Mukhopadhyay, J; Ghosh, K; Rangel, E F et al. (1998) Genetic variability in biochemical characters of Brazilian field populations of the Leishmania vector, Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae). Am J Trop Med Hyg 59:893-901
Ghosh, K N; Mukhopadhyay, J (1998) The effect of anti-sandfly saliva antibodies on Phlebotomus argentipes and Leishmania donovani. Int J Parasitol 28:275-81
Munstermann, L E; Morrison, A C; Ferro, C et al. (1998) Genetic structure of local populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in central Colombia. J Med Entomol 35:82-9
Mukhopadhyay, J; Rangel, E F; Ghosh, K et al. (1997) Patterns of genetic variability in colonized strains of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) and its consequences. Am J Trop Med Hyg 57:216-21
Ferro, C; Pardo, R; Torres, M et al. (1997) Larval microhabitats of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Colombia. J Med Entomol 34:719-28
Franco, A M; Tesh, R B; Guzman, H et al. (1997) Development of Endotrypanum (Kinetoplastida:Trypanosomatidae) in experimentally infected phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera:Psychodidae). J Med Entomol 34:189-92
Ferro, C; Morrison, A C; Torres, M et al. (1995) Age structure, blood-feeding behavior, and Leishmania chagasi infection in Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) at an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Colombia. J Med Entomol 32:618-29
Walters, L L; Irons, K P; Guzman, H et al. (1995) Peritrophic envelopes of Lutzomyia spinicrassa (Diptera: Psychodidae). J Med Entomol 32:711-25

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