Under-Expression of Chemosensory Genes in Domiciliary Bugs of the Chagas Disease Vector Triatoma brasiliensis

摘要

BackgroundIn Latin America, the bloodsucking bugs Triatominae are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Chemical elimination programs have been launched to control Chagas disease vectors. However, the disease persists because native vectors from sylvatic habitats are able to (re)colonize houses—a process called domiciliation. Triatoma brasiliensis is one example. Because the chemosensory system allows insects to interact with their environment and plays a key role in insect adaption, we conducted a descriptive and comparative study of the chemosensory transcriptome of T. brasiliensis samples from different ecotopes.