Genomic changes of Chagas disease vector, South America

We analyzed the main karyologic changes that have occurred during the dispersion of Triatoma infestans, the main vector of Chagas disease. We identified two allopatric groups, named Andean and non-Andean. The Andean specimens present C-heterochromatic blocks in most of their 22 chromosomes, whereas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emerging infectious diseases 2004-03, Vol.10 (3), p.438-446
Main Authors: Panzera, Francisco, Dujardin, Jean Pierre, Nicolini, Paula, Caraccio, María Noel, Rose, Virginia, Tellez, Tatiana, Bermúdez, Hernán, Bargues, María Dolores, Mas-Coma, Santiago, O'Connor, José Enrique, Pérez, Ruben
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Chagas disease
Chagas Disease - genetics
Disease Vectors - classification
Female
Flow Cytometry
genome size
heterochromatin
holocentric chromosomes
Male
South America
Triatoma - classification
Triatoma - genetics
Triatoma infestans
Triatominae
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Summary:We analyzed the main karyologic changes that have occurred during the dispersion of Triatoma infestans, the main vector of Chagas disease. We identified two allopatric groups, named Andean and non-Andean. The Andean specimens present C-heterochromatic blocks in most of their 22 chromosomes, whereas non-Andean specimens have only 4-7 autosomes with C-banding. These heterochromatin differences are the likely cause of a striking DNA content variation (approximately 30%) between Andean and non-Andean insects. Our study, together with previous historical and genetic data, suggests that T. infestans was originally a sylvatic species, with large quantities of DNA and heterochromatin, inhabiting the Andean region of Bolivia. However, the spread of domestic T. infestans throughout the non-Andean regions only involved insects with an important reduction of heterochromatin and DNA amounts. We propose that heterochromatin and DNA variation mainly reflected adaptive genomic changes that contribute to the ability of T. infestans to survive, reproduce, and disperse in different environments.
ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/eid1003.020812