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Feeding behaviour of tsetse flies infected with salivarian trypanosomes

Nature volume 283, pages 383–385 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

Although much is known about factors which determine infection rates of salivarian trypanosomes (subgenera Nannomonas, Duttonella and Trypanozoon) in the tsetse fly Glossina1,2, it is not clear why infection rates of Trypanozoon are high in mammalian hosts but low in wild-caught Glossina3,4 and why trypanosomiasis occurs where Glossina is not readily detectable. We report here that the feeding behaviour of trypanosome-infected Glossina differed from that of uninfected control flies. Infected flies probed more frequently and fed more voraciously. We describe a specific relationship between trypanosomes and the mechanoreceptors responsible for detecting the rate of blood flow5–7, and show how infection affects that rate in the labrum. We suggest that the observed differences in feeding behaviour result from impaired function of the labral mechanoreceptors in infected Glossina.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Tropical Institute, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4051, Basle, Switzerland

    L. Jenni

  2. Department of Biology, Salford University,

    D. H. Molyneux

  3. Department of Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering, Salford University, Salford, UK

    J. L. Livesey

  4. Department of Zoology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    R. Galun

Authors
  1. L. Jenni
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  2. D. H. Molyneux
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  3. J. L. Livesey
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  4. R. Galun
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Jenni, L., Molyneux, D., Livesey, J. et al. Feeding behaviour of tsetse flies infected with salivarian trypanosomes. Nature 283, 383–385 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/283383a0

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