Integration of triatomine knowledge: “MetaTri", a data base for meta-analysis

JORGE RABINOVICH

Lisboa

Workshop; I Iberoamerican Workshop on Chagas Disease, Triatomine vectors, T. cruzi, and Triatoma virus; 2010

Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT), Lisboa, Portugal

Introduction: Over 4,000 scientific articles have been published on the natural history, anatomy, ecology, physiology, behavior, genetics, distribution, habitat, diet, molecular biology, phylogeny, evolution and many other important aspects of the Triatominae. However, such a wealth of information is difficult to integrate in order to convert knowledge into understanding. Objective: Development of a data base software ("MetaTri") to host updated knowledge on triatomines, and design of statistical methods for a "meta-analysis".  Methods: The software, programmed in Delphi used a SQL Server data base engine. The distribution of 116 species of triatomines was obtained from the "Atlas" of FRIOCRUZ, the climate information from FAO's "New Loc Clim" software, and the vegetation data from the EU Ispra Center (Italy), and recorded at a 1/10th degree of resolution. For some species diet, habitat, and life history data were also recorded. In addition to utilities for mapping the distribution of the presence/absence and species richness, tools such as climadiagrams, bivariate diagrams, grid cells exportation, distribution predictions based on decision trees and neural network rules are provides. The query capacity allows  combining searches from all types of information recorded in the data base.  Results: "MetaTri" is completely functional. Queries on the combined conditions of habitat and diet and the geographical distribution of many species with the effects of geographical scale have been analyzed, and several papers are ready for publication. The compilation of the life history data is finished and is being analyzed in collaboration with the Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France.  Conclusions: The objective, although ambitious, has proved feasible, although much more information is still pending to be recorded. The preliminary results of the use of "MetaTri" have already suggested new complementary information that is required; e.g., the phylogenetic information that allows comparisons between different species and genera.