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1,705 results for “Vector”
Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes as vectors of Plasmodium vivax and falciparum, Horn of Africa, 2019
<p>An. stephensi, an efficient malaria vector in parts of Asia and Africa, was observed in 75.3% of water sources surveyed, and contributed to 80.9% of wild-caught Anopheles mosquitoes in Awash Sebat Kilo, Ethiopia. High susceptibility of these mosquitoes to Plasmodium falciparum and vivax infection presents a challenge for malaria control in the Horn of Africa. This study was conducted in Awash Sebat Kilo, Ethiopia, an area of perennial malaria transmission, from April to September 2019. We examined aquatic habitats for immature-stage <i>Anopheles </i>mosquitoes by standard dipping (10x/site) for 5 consecutive days. We assessed mosquito resting, feeding, and host-seeking behavior.</p>
Probability of occurrence and phenology of pine wilt disease transmission by insect vectors in the Rocky Mountains
<p>1. Pine wilt disease, caused by pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus; PWN), is a damaging and globally distributed insect-vectored forest pathogen. Native forest tree mortality associated with PWN is newly reported from the Front Range of Colorado, but there is no regional information on PWN frequency or biology of local insect vectors, limiting management options.</p> <p>2. A sampling array was established to survey PWN in native pines (Pinus ponderosa) and longhorn beetles (Monochamus clamator & Monochamus scutellatus) over two years and across natural and urban forest landscapes. We developed flight phenology models and evaluated effects of landscape factors on vector abundance and probability of infection.</p> <p>3. Flight phenology was similar for vectors; Monochamus flight initiated in mid-July and continued into October for both species. We report the first M. clamator–PWN association in the United States. PWN was distributed in the region at rates lower than reported from its putative native range: 3.6 and 4.2% of sampled pines and beetles, respectively, tested positive for PWN. Many host trees were outwardly asymptomatic; infection frequency in tree populations varied considerably and four epicenters of vector infectivity were identified.</p> <p>4. Epicenters varied in timing of anomalous infective vector frequency—some epicenters had high abundances of infected beetles early in the growing season whereas others had high abundances of infected beetles late in the growing season, though PWN-positive beetles were captured at all sites. Monochamus populations were found primarily in natural forest stands but migrated to urban areas late in the growing season. The only landscape factor positively correlated with abundances of both Monochamus species was distance to previous wildfire.</p> <p>5. Synthesis and applications: PWN epicenters in the southern Rocky Mountains exhibit specific temporal windows of vector activity that differ from proximal sites. Urban forests, where the disease was initially observed in the region, do not support vector populations. Our results suggest that natural forest landscapes in the region are important reservoirs of PWN and vector populations are especially abundant near burned stands. Collectively, our findings are important for timing disease management activities appropriately and help to distinguish priority areas for mitigation efforts.</p>
FIGURE 3 in First record of the West Nile virus bridge vector Culex modestus Ficalbi (Diptera Culicidae) in Belgium, validated by DNA barcoding
FIGURE 3. NJ tree based on COI sequences downloaded from BOLD, including Culex species recorded from Belgium (Boukraa et al. 2015) and sequences of Cx. modestus (Table 1). Bootstrap values are indicated above the branches. The blue square gives a zoom view of the un-collapsed tree.
FIGURE 2 in First record of the West Nile virus bridge vector Culex modestus Ficalbi (Diptera Culicidae) in Belgium, validated by DNA barcoding
FIGURE 2. The small vernal pond vegetated with common cattail (Typha latifolia) where the Cx. modestus larva was collected.
FIGURE 1 in First record of the West Nile virus bridge vector Culex modestus Ficalbi (Diptera Culicidae) in Belgium, validated by DNA barcoding
FIGURE 1. (A) Posterior part of the mounted Cx. modestus larva. Zoom on the diagnostic characteristic of the siphon, showing disarrayed insertion points of the ventral siphonal setae. (B) Posterior part of a mounted Cx. pipiens larva.
Data from: Wood-inhabiting insects can function as targeted vectors for decomposer fungi
Most wood-inhabiting fungi are assumed to be dispersed primarily by wind, with the exception of a few species involved in mutualistic relationships with insects. In this study we tested whether several species of wood-inhabiting insects can function as dispersal vectors for non-mutualistic fungi, which would indicate that wood-inhabiting fungi can benefit from targeted animal-mediated dispersal. We sampled wood-inhabiting beetles (Coleoptera) from freshly felled wood experimentally added to forests and used DNA metabarcoding to investigate the fungal DNA carried by these insects. Staphylinid beetles rarely contained fungal DNA, while Endomychus coccineus, Glischrochilus hortensis and Glischrochilus quadripunctatus frequently carried fungal DNA with a composition specific to the insect taxon. A large proportion of the obtained fungal sequences (34%) represented decomposer fungi, including well-known wood-decay fungi such as Fomitopsis pinicola, Fomes fomentarius, Trichaptum abietinum and Trametes versicolor. Scanning electron microscopy further showed that some of the fungal material was carried as spores or yeast cells on the insect exoskeletons. Our results suggest that insect-vectored dispersal is of broader importance to wood-inhabiting fungi than previously assumed.
Data from: Human movement, cooperation, and the effectiveness of coordinated vector control strategies
Vector-borne disease transmission is often typified by highly focal transmission and influenced by movement of hosts and vectors across different scales. The ecological and environmental conditions (including those created by humans through vector control programmes) that result in metapopulation dynamics remain poorly understood. The development of control strategies that would most effectively limit outbreaks given such dynamics is particularly urgent given the recent epidemics of dengue, chikungunya and Zika viruses. We developed a stochastic, spatial model of vector-borne disease transmission, allowing for movement of hosts between patches. Our model is applicable to arbovirus transmission by Aedes aegypti in urban settings and was parametrized to capture Zika virus transmission in particular. Using simulations, we investigated the extent to which two aspects of vector control strategies are affected by human commuting patterns: the extent of coordination and cooperation between neighbouring communities. We find that transmission intensity is highest at intermediate levels of host movement. The extent to which coordination of control activities among neighbouring patches decreases the prevalence of infection is affected by both how frequently humans commute and the proportion of neighbouring patches that commits to vector surveillance and control activities. At high levels of host movement, patches that do not contribute to vector control may act as sources of infection in the landscape, yet have comparable levels of prevalence as patches that do cooperate. This result suggests that real cooperation among neighbours will be critical to the development of effective pro-active strategies for vector-borne disease control in today's commuter-linked communities.
Data from: Spatial distribution of sand fly vectors and eco-epidemiology of cutaneous leishmaniasis transmission in Colombia
Background: Leishmania is transmitted by Phlebotominae insects that maintain the enzootic cycle by circulating between sylvatic and domestic mammals; humans enter the cycles as accidental hosts due to the vector's search for blood source. In Colombia, leishmaniasis is an endemic disease and 95% of all cases are cutaneous (CL), these cases have been reported in several regions of the country where the intervention of sylvatic areas by the introduction of agriculture seem to have an impact on the rearrangement of new transmission cycles. Our study aimed to update vector species distribution in the country and to analyze the relationship between vectors' distribution, climate, land use and CL prevalence. Methods: A database with geographic information was assembled, and ecological niche modeling was performed to explore the potential distribution of each of the 21 species of medical importance in Colombia, using thirteen bioclimatic variables, three topographic and three principal components derived from NDVI. Binary models for each species were obtained and related to both land use coverage, and a CL prevalence map with available epidemiological data. Finally, maps of species potential distribution were summed to define potential species richness in the country. Results: In total, 673 single records were obtained with Lutzomyia gomezi, Lutzomyia longipalpis, Psychodopygus panamensis, Psathyromyia shannoni and Pintomyia evansi the species with the highest number of records. Eighteen species had significant models, considering the area under the curve and the jackknife results: L. gomezi and P. panamensis had the widest potential distribution. All sand fly species except for Nyssomyia antunesi are mainly distributed in regions with rates of prevalence between 0.33 to 101.35 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and 76% of collection data points fall into transformed ecosystems. Discussion: Distribution ranges of sand flies with medical importance in Colombia correspond predominantly to disturbed areas, where the original land coverage is missing therefore increasing the domiciliation potential. We highlight the importance of the use of distribution maps as a tool for the development of strategies for prevention and control of diseases.
Data from: Pathogens manipulate the preference of vectors, slowing disease spread in a multi-host system
The spread of vector‐borne pathogens depends on a complex set of interactions among pathogen, vector, and host. In single‐host systems, pathogens can induce changes in vector preferences for infected vs. healthy hosts. Yet it is unclear if pathogens also induce changes in vector preference among host species, and how changes in vector behaviour alter the ecological dynamics of disease spread. Here, we couple multi‐host preference experiments with a novel model of vector preference general to both single and multi‐host communities. We show that viruliferous aphids exhibit strong preferences for healthy and long‐lived hosts. Coupling experimental results with modelling to account for preference leads to a strong decrease in overall pathogen spread through multi‐host communities due to non‐random sorting of viruliferous vectors between preferred and non‐preferred host species. Our results demonstrate the importance of the interplay between vector behaviour and host diversity as a key mechanism in the spread of vectored‐diseases.
Generating fast sparse matrix vector multiplication from a high level generic functional IR
<p>Usage of high-level intermediate representations promises the generation of fast code from a high-level description, improving the productivity of developers while achieving the performance traditionally only reached with low-level programming approaches.</p> <p>High-level IRs come in two flavors:<br> 1) domain-specific IRs designed to express only for a specific application area; or<br> 2) generic high-level IRs that can be used to generate high-performance code across many domains.<br> Developing generic IRs is more challenging but offers the advantage of reusing a common compiler infrastructure various applications.</p> <p>In this paper, we extend a generic high-level IR to enable efficient computation with sparse data structures.<br> Crucially, we encode sparse representation using reusable dense building blocks already present in the high-level IR.<br> We use a form of dependent types to model sparse matrices in CSR format by expressing the relationship between multiple dense arrays explicitly separately storing the length of rows, the column indices, and the non-zero values of the matrix.</p> <p>We demonstrate that we achieve high-performance compared to spare low-level library code using our extended generic high-level code generator.<br> On an Nvidia GPU, we outperform the highly tuned Nvidia cuSparse implementation of SpMV multiplication across 28 sparse matrices of varying sparsity on average by $1.7\times$.</p>
Data from: Comparative genomics of pathogenic and nonpathogenic beetle-vectored fungi in the genus Geosmithia
Geosmithia morbida is an emerging fungal pathogen which serves as a model for examining the evolutionary processes behind pathogenicity because it is one of two known pathogens within a genus of mostly saprophytic, beetle-associated, fungi. This pathogen causes thousand cankers disease in black walnut trees and is vectored into the host via the walnut twig beetle. G. morbida was first detected in western US and currently threatens the timber industry concentrated in eastern US. We sequenced the genomes of G. morbida in a previous study and two non-pathogenic Geosmithia species in this work and compared these species to other fungal pathogens and nonpathogens to identify genes under positive selection in Geosmithia morbida that may be associated with pathogenicity. Geosmithia morbida possesses one of the smallest genomes among the fungal species observed in this study, and one of the smallest fungal pathogen genomes to date. The enzymatic profile in this pathogen is very similar to its non-pathogenic relatives. Our findings indicate that genome reduction or retention of a smaller genome may be an important adaptative force during the evolution of a specialized lifestyle in fungal species that occupy a specific niche, such as beetle vectored tree pathogens. We also present potential genes under selection in G. morbida that could be important for adaptation to a pathogenic lifestyle.
Data from: Extensive introgression in a malaria vector species complex revealed by phylogenomics
Introgressive hybridization is now recognized as a widespread phenomenon, but its role in evolution remains contested. Here we use newly available reference genome assemblies to investigate phylogenetic relationships and introgression in a medically important group of Afrotropical mosquito sibling species. We have identified the correct species branching order to resolve a contentious phylogeny, and show that lineages leading to the principal vectors of human malaria were among the first to split. Pervasive autosomal introgression between these malaria vectors means that only a small fraction of the genome, mainly on the X chromosome, has not crossed species boundaries. Our results suggest that traits enhancing vectorial capacity may be gained through interspecific gene flow, including between non-sister species.
Data from: Effective population sizes of a major vector of human diseases, Aedes aegypti
The effective population size (Ne) is a fundamental parameter in population genetics that determines the relative strength of selection and random genetic drift, the effect of migration, levels of inbreeding, and linkage disequilibrium. In many cases where it has been estimated in animals, Ne is on the order of 10-20% of the census size. In this study, we use 12 microsatellite markers and 14,888 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to empirically estimate Ne in Aedes aegypti, the major vector of yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. We used the method of temporal sampling to estimate Ne on a global dataset made up of 46 samples of Ae. aegypti that included multiple time points from 17 widely distributed geographic localities. Our Ne estimates for Ae. aegypti fell within a broad range (~25-3,000), and averaged between 400 and 600 across all localities and time points sampled. Adult census size (Nc) estimates for this species range between one and five thousand, so the Ne/Nc ratio is about the same as for most animals. These Ne values are lower than estimates available for other insects and have important implications for the design of genetic control strategies to reduce the impact of this species of mosquito on human health.
Data from: Larval nutritional stress affects vector life history traits and human malaria transmission
Exposure to stress during an insect's larval development can have carry-over effects on many adult life history traits and affect host susceptibility to pathogens. Studies on mosquitoes have shown that the larval environment impacts on components of vectorial capacity such as vector competence and adult survival. We investigated the carry-over effects of larval nutritional stress for the first time on a natural mosquito vector-malaria parasite association: Anopheles coluzzii exposed to field isolates of Plasmodium falciparum. In contrast to previous studies, we show that larval nutritional stress may affect human to mosquito transmission antagonistically: nutritionally deprived larvae showed lower parasite prevalence only on a subset of gametocyte carriers; they also had lower fecundity. However, they had greater survival rates that were even higher when infected. We combined these opposing effects into epidemiological models to show that they depend on mosquito densities. Larval nutritional stress induced a decrease in malaria transmission at low mosquito density and an increase in transmission at high mosquito densities, whereas transmission by mosquitoes from well-fed larvae was stable. Our work underscores the importance of including larval ecological factors towards understanding host – parasite dynamics, and the need to confirm findings from artificial models on natural systems to improve disease transmission models and control.
Data from: Population structure of the Chagas disease vector Triatoma infestans in an urban environment
Chagas disease is a vector-borne disease endemic in Latin America. Triatoma infestans, a common vector of this disease, has recently expanded its range into rapidly developing cities of Latin America. We aim to identify the environmental features that affect the colonization and dispersal of T. infestans in an urban environment. We amplified 13 commonly used microsatellites from 180 T. infestans samples collected from a sampled transect in the city of Arequipa, Peru, in 2007 and 2011. We assessed the clustering of subpopulations and the effect of distance, sampling year, and city block location on genetic distance among pairs of insects. Despite evidence of genetic similarity, the majority of city blocks are characterized by one dominant insect genotype, suggesting the existence of barriers to dispersal. Our analyses show that streets represent an important barrier to the colonization and dispersion of T. infestans in Arequipa. The genetic data describe a T. infestans infestation history characterized by persistent local dispersal and occasional long-distance migration events that partially parallels the history of urban development.
Data from: Virus infection influences host plant interactions with non-vector herbivores and predators
1. Viruses are widespread in both natural and agricultural plant communities and can significantly alter diverse traits of their host plants that mediate key interactions with other organisms. Yet, the impacts of plant viruses on broader community dynamics remain little studied. 2. Here we explore the effects of Cucumber mosaic virus, a common non-persistently transmitted plant virus, on short and long-term interactions of herbivorous and predatory insects with squash (Cucurbita pepo) plants in a weedy field setting, as well as virus-induced changes in plant phenotypes that mediate these interactions. Cucumber mosaic virus has previously been shown to have numerous effects on host plants that likely influence interactions with arthropods, including reduced plant size, increased volatile emissions, and diminished plant quality and palatability for aphid vectors. 3. Infection reduced the likelihood of many herbivorous insects arresting and feeding on plants, as well as the apparency of plants to herbivores that base in-flight foraging on visual cues. In particular, infection drastically reduced numbers of a specialist squash herbivore (Anasa tristis) on plants in the field—a pattern likely driven by a reduction of phagostimulatory sugar levels in leaf tissue and concurrent increase in amino acid levels, as nymphal development was not obviously impacted by infection status. Relative to effects on herbivores, virus infection had little impact on the ability of predatory insects to locate aphid prey, although an experiment examining plant visitation in the absence of aphids revealed reduced numbers of foraging Syrphidae (Diptera) and Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) on infected plants but increased visitation and oviposition by Chrysopidae (Neuroptera). 4. CMV infection may reduce overall herbivore pressure on infected plants through effects on palatability and apparency, yet predators appear to locate herbivorous prey that do occur on infected plants as efficiently as those on healthy plants. 5. Virus infection can significantly influence plant interactions with the insect community (including non-vector as well as vector insects) with potential implications both for disease spread and for broader community dynamics.
Data from: 2b-RAD genotyping for population genomic studies of Chagas disease vectors: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis in Ecuador
Background: Rhodnius ecuadoriensis is the main triatomine vector of Chagas disease, American trypanosomiasis, in Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru. Genomic approaches and next generation sequencing technologies have become powerful tools for investigating population diversity and structure which is a key consideration for vector control. Here we assess the effectiveness of three different 2b restriction site-associated DNA (2b-RAD) genotyping strategies in R. ecuadoriensis to provide sufficient genomic resolution to tease apart microevolutionary processes and undertake some pilot population genomic analyses. Methodology/Principal findings: The 2b-RAD protocol was carried out in-house at a non-specialized laboratory using 20 R. ecuadoriensis adults collected from the central coast and southern Andean region of Ecuador, from June 2006 to July 2013. 2b-RAD sequencing data was performed on an Illumina MiSeq instrument and analyzed with the STACKS de novo pipeline for loci assembly and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) discovery. Preliminary population genomic analyses (global AMOVA and Bayesian clustering) were implemented. Our results showed that the 2b-RAD genotyping protocol is effective for R. ecuadoriensis and likely for other triatomine species. However, only BcgI and CspCI restriction enzymes provided a number of markers suitable for population genomic analysis at the read depth we generated. Our preliminary genomic analyses detected a signal of genetic structuring across the study area. Conclusions/Significance: Our findings suggest that 2b-RAD genotyping is both a cost effective and methodologically simple approach for generating high resolution genomic data for Chagas disease vectors with the power to distinguish between different vector populations at epidemiologically relevant scales. As such, 2b-RAD represents a powerful tool in the hands of medical entomologists with limited access to specialized molecular biological equipment.
Data from: Population structure of a vector-borne plant parasite
Parasites are among the most diverse groups of life on Earth, yet complex natural histories often preclude studies of their speciation processes. The biology of parasitic plants facilitates in situ collection of data on both genetic structure and the mechanisms responsible for that structure. Here, we studied the role of mating, dispersal and establishment in host race formation of a parasitic plant. We investigated the population genetics of a vector-borne desert mistletoe (Phoradendron californicum) across two legume host tree species (Senegalia greggii and Prosopis velutina) in the Sonoran desert using microsatellites. Consistent with host race formation, we found strong host-associated genetic structure in sympatry, little genetic variation due to geographic site and weak isolation by distance. We hypothesize that genetic differentiation results from differences in the timing of mistletoe flowering by host species, as we found initial flowering date of individual mistletoes correlated with genetic ancestry. Hybrids with intermediate ancestry were detected genetically. Individuals likely resulting from recent, successful establishment events following dispersal between the host species were detected at frequencies similar to hybrids between host races. Therefore, barriers to gene flow between the host races may have been stronger at mating than at dispersal. We also found higher inbreeding and within-host individual relatedness values for mistletoes on the more rare and isolated host species (S. greggii). Our study spanned spatial scales to address how interactions with both vectors and hosts influence parasitic plant structure with implications for parasite virulence evolution and speciation.
Data from: Abiotic and habitat drivers of tick vector abundance, diversity, phenology and human encounter risk in southern California
The distribution, abundance and seasonal activity of vector species, such as ticks and mosquitoes, are key determinants of vector-borne disease risk, and are strongly influenced by abiotic and habitat conditions. Despite the numerous species of tick vectors in the heavily populated North American West Coast, all but Ixodes pacificus, the primary vector of the Lyme disease spirochete, is poorly characterized with regard to seasonal activity patterns and fine scale drivers of distribution and abundance, particularly in heavily populated regions of southern California. This lack of knowledge inhibits both scientific understanding and public health efforts to minimize vector exposure and risk of pathogen transmission to humans. Here we address this gap by characterizing the abiotic and habitat drivers of the distribution, abundance, and diversity of the vector tick community using fine scale temporal surveys over two seasons (2014 and 2015) across coastal and inland regions of Santa Barbara County, CA. We also characterize patterns of seasonal activity of the more common vector species to understand seasonality in risk of vector exposure, and specifically focus on human encounter risk using standardized tick drags as our method of collection. Leveraging plot-level habitat and abiotic variables in partial least squares regression analysis, we find the seven different vector species collected in this study have divergent drivers of activity and abundance. For example, I. pacificus is strongly associated with dense forest habitats and cool and moist microclimates, while Dermacentor occidentalis and Dermacentor variabilis, competent vectors of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, were found to be more tolerant of higher average temperatures and more open habitats. These results suggest that I. pacificus may be expected to experience reductions in geographic distribution and seasonal activity under projected land cover and climate change in coastal southern California, while D. occidentalis may experience more limited effects. We discuss implications for changing tick-borne disease risk associated with pathogens transmitted by Ixodes as well as Dermacentor species ticks in the western US, and contrast these predictions with eastern North America.
Data from: Travelling at a slug's pace: possible invertebrate vectors of Caenorhabditis nematodes
Background: How do very small animals with limited long-distance dispersal abilities move between locations, especially if they prefer ephemeral micro-habitats that are only available for short periods of time? The free-living model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and several congeneric taxa appear to be common in such short-lived environments, for example decomposing fruits or other rotting plant material. Dispersal is usually assumed to depend on animal vectors, yet all current data is based on only a limited number of studies. In our project we performed three comprehensive field surveys on possible invertebrate vectors in North German locations containing populations of C. elegans and two related species, especially C. remanei, and combined these screens with an experimental analysis of persistence in one of the vector taxa. Results: Our field survey revealed that Caenorhabditis nematodes are commonly found in slugs, isopods, and chilopods, but are not present in the remaining taxonomic groups examined. Surprisingly, the nematodes were frequently isolated from the intestines of slugs, even if slugs were not collected in close association with suitable substrates for Caenorhabditis proliferation. This suggests that the nematodes are able to enter the slug intestines and persist for certain periods of time. Our experimental analysis confirmed the ability of C. elegans to invade slug intestines and subsequently be excreted alive with the slug feces, although only for short time periods under laboratory conditions. Conclusions: We conclude that three invertebrate taxonomic groups represent potential vectors of Caenorhabditis nematodes. The nematodes appear to have evolved specific adaptations to enter and persist in the harsh environment of slug intestines, possibly indicating first steps towards a parasitic life-style.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.