Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El Salvador
Chagas disease is caused by the parasite <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, which is transmitted by insect-vectors in the taxonomic subfamily Triatominae and affects approximately 8,000,000 people world-wide. Current mitigation strategies for Chagas focus on insecticides, infrastructure improveme...
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| author | Víctor D. Carmona-Galindo Claire C. Sheppard Madelyn L. Bastin Megan R. Kehrig Maria F. Marín-Recinos Joyce J. Choi Vianney Castañeda de Abrego |
| author_facet | Víctor D. Carmona-Galindo Claire C. Sheppard Madelyn L. Bastin Megan R. Kehrig Maria F. Marín-Recinos Joyce J. Choi Vianney Castañeda de Abrego |
| author_sort | Víctor D. Carmona-Galindo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chagas disease is caused by the parasite <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, which is transmitted by insect-vectors in the taxonomic subfamily Triatominae and affects approximately 8,000,000 people world-wide. Current mitigation strategies for Chagas focus on insecticides, infrastructure improvements, and management of symptoms, which are largely unsustainable in underserved communities where the disease is widespread. Transmission patterns of vector-borne diseases are known to adaptively respond to habitat change; as such, the objective of our study was to evaluate how the physical characteristics of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> would vary in relation to land use in El Salvador. We hypothesized that the color and morphology of <i>T. dimidiata</i> would change with municipal levels of urban and natural green space, natural green space, and agricultural space, as well as municipal diversity, richness, and evenness of land use types. Our results characterize how <i>T. dimidiata</i> color and morphology vary directly with anthropogenic changes to natural and agricultural environments, which are reflective of a highly adaptable population primed to respond to environmental change. Mitigation studies of Chagas disease should exploit the relationships between anthropogenic land use and <i>T. dimidiata</i> morphology to evaluate how the transmission pattern of <i>T. cruzi</i> and Chagas disease symptomology are impacted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:25:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e40568fa3f7f4e5294d055a2c8f6d815 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:25:50Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-e40568fa3f7f4e5294d055a2c8f6d8152023-11-22T00:01:37ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172021-06-0110675310.3390/pathogens10060753Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El SalvadorVíctor D. Carmona-Galindo0Claire C. Sheppard1Madelyn L. Bastin2Megan R. Kehrig3Maria F. Marín-Recinos4Joyce J. Choi5Vianney Castañeda de Abrego6Biology Department, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI 48221, USABiology Department, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI 48221, USABiology Department, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI 48221, USABiology Department, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI 48221, USAAgrobiotechnology Program, Justus Liebig Universität Gießen, 35390 Hesse, GermanySchool for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USACentro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Salud, Universidad de El Salvador, San Salvador CP1101, El SalvadorChagas disease is caused by the parasite <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i>, which is transmitted by insect-vectors in the taxonomic subfamily Triatominae and affects approximately 8,000,000 people world-wide. Current mitigation strategies for Chagas focus on insecticides, infrastructure improvements, and management of symptoms, which are largely unsustainable in underserved communities where the disease is widespread. Transmission patterns of vector-borne diseases are known to adaptively respond to habitat change; as such, the objective of our study was to evaluate how the physical characteristics of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> would vary in relation to land use in El Salvador. We hypothesized that the color and morphology of <i>T. dimidiata</i> would change with municipal levels of urban and natural green space, natural green space, and agricultural space, as well as municipal diversity, richness, and evenness of land use types. Our results characterize how <i>T. dimidiata</i> color and morphology vary directly with anthropogenic changes to natural and agricultural environments, which are reflective of a highly adaptable population primed to respond to environmental change. Mitigation studies of Chagas disease should exploit the relationships between anthropogenic land use and <i>T. dimidiata</i> morphology to evaluate how the transmission pattern of <i>T. cruzi</i> and Chagas disease symptomology are impacted.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/6/753American trypanosomiasisCentral Americaeco healthkissing bugneglected tropical diseasesphenotypic variation |
| spellingShingle | Víctor D. Carmona-Galindo Claire C. Sheppard Madelyn L. Bastin Megan R. Kehrig Maria F. Marín-Recinos Joyce J. Choi Vianney Castañeda de Abrego Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El Salvador Pathogens American trypanosomiasis Central America eco health kissing bug neglected tropical diseases phenotypic variation |
| title | Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El Salvador |
| title_full | Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El Salvador |
| title_fullStr | Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El Salvador |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El Salvador |
| title_short | Chromatic and Morphological Differentiation of <i>Triatoma dimidiata</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) with Land Use Diversity in El Salvador |
| title_sort | chromatic and morphological differentiation of i triatoma dimidiata i hemiptera reduviidae with land use diversity in el salvador |
| topic | American trypanosomiasis Central America eco health kissing bug neglected tropical diseases phenotypic variation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/6/753 |
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