Neurobiological studies in triatomines. Tools for an integrated control strategy

SHEILA ONS

Mar del Plata

Congreso; XXXI Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Protozoología; 2019

Sociedad Argentina de Protozoología

In despite of the efforts for triatomine control, vectorial transmission of Tripanosoma cruzi could not be prevented in Argentina to date. High insecticide resistance emerged and expanded in Triatoma infestans populations from the Gran Chaco ecoregion during the last 15 years, exposing the urgent need of an integrated vector control strategy. This approach requires the combination of both resistance management and the development of environmentally sustainable insecticidal tools, to replace or complement neurotoxics in the near future. Our research group performs neurobiological studies in triatomine insects to address both insecticide resistance monitoring tools, and the search of neuroendocrine targets for new-generation insecticides. We have identified that the main mechanism of pyrethroid resistance in T. infestans from the Gran Chaco ecoregion is the presence of punctual mutations in the gene that encodes their target site: the voltage-gated sodium channel gene. This finding allowed us to develop sensitive and high-throughput molecular tools for resistance monitoring in field populations. Furthermore, we implemented genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic approaches combined with physiological experiments and RNAi-mediated gene silencing to study the physiological roles of understudied neuropeptide families such as Orcokinins, CCHamide and ITG-like. Interestingly, we found that these poorly studied neuropeptide families have fundamental physiological roles in the regulation of either post-embryonic development, reproduction, diuresis or stress response. The results indicate that some of the studied neuropeptides could be good targets for further studies oriented to the development of next-generation tools for the control of triatomines.