Study of the immature stages of five species of epidemiological importance of the genus Rhodnius Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae)

• Grant number: 23/00423-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: João Aristeu da Rosa
• Grantee: Jociel Klleyton Santos Santana
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The environmental changes have caused alterations in the behavior of triatomines. Rhodnius is a genus that has a wide geographic distribution in the brazilian territory and all 21 species are capable of transmitting Trypanosoma cruzi. In the last decade, the number of occurrence records of Rhodnius spp. in anthropized areas has increased. Bearing in mind the problematic approximation of the vector to the man, it is proposed the morphological and morphometric study of the nymphal instars of R. domesticus, R. montenegrensis, R. nasutus, R. neglectus e R. stali with the purpose of elaborating a dichotomous key for the identification and expand the characterization of these five species. Furthermore, this project also has epidemiological importance, as these species are involved in the transmission of Chagas disease in their respective distribution areas, covering the five regions of Brazil. The colonies of the five species of Rhodnius to be used are kept in the Triatominae Insectarium of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences/Unesp/Araraquara. To carry out the studies, will be used 15 specimens of each of the five nymphal instars of the species mentioned above. The images will be obtained using a Leica M205 stereoscopic microscope with the aid of the Leica Application Suite X image analysis software. The morphological study will be based on the observation and description of the characters of the head, thorax and abdomen. In addition, the morphometric study will be carried out through geometric morphometry of the head and thorax. For this, will be selected and digitized anatomical landmarks that best represent the homology between the species tested and that enable the investigation of shape and size variables.