Revisiting the cave-dwelling sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) from Brazil: Diversity and potential role in the transmission of Leishmania Ross, 1903 (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae)

Leishmania species infection of bats: A systematic review

A wide variety of mammals, including domestic and wild species, have been considered potential hosts and reservoirs for Leishmania. Bats have longevity, dispersal capacity, and adaptability to synotropic environments, characteristics that may favor their role in maintaining the life cycle of parasites. Therefore, the objective of this study was to carry out a worldwide systematic review of the occurrence of Leishmania species in bats, as well as to identify associations between eating habits and the type of sample collected with the occurrence of the infection. Data were obtained from a bibliographic search for studies that used molecular methods to identify parasites, employing the keywords "bats" AND "Leishmania" and their synonyms. We found 68 original studies, of which 20 were included in this review. Most studies were conducted in Brazil (60 %) and only 10 % were conducted in Old World countries. In all, 48 bat species were recorded that hosted seven Leishmania species, resulting in 62 different host-parasite interactions, and the Leishmania infantum interaction with bat species presented higher frequency. There was no significant difference between Leishmania species richness, infection percentage, and type of sample analyzed, but in general, it is observed that the use of different biological samples seems to expand the possibility of parasite detection. The patterns observed here indicate that bats can become infected with a wide variety of Leishmania species and likely play an important role in maintaining the parasite's life cycle. Thus, we suggest that studies aimed at understanding the transmission cycle of leishmaniasis include the investigation of bats as potential hosts or reservoirs of Leishmania.

Antimicrobial Peptides (AMP) in the Cell-Free Culture Media of Xenorhabdus budapestensis and X. szentirmaii Exert Anti-Protist Activity against Eukaryotic Vertebrate Pathogens including Histomonas meleagridis and Leishmania donovani Species

Anti-microbial peptides provide a powerful toolkit for combating multidrug resistance. Combating eukaryotic pathogens is complicated because the intracellular drug targets in the eukaryotic pathogen are frequently homologs of cellular structures of vital importance in the host organism. The entomopathogenic bacteria (EPB), symbionts of entomopathogenic-nematode species, release a series of non-ribosomal templated anti-microbial peptides. Some may be potential drug candidates. The ability of an entomopathogenic-nematode/entomopathogenic bacterium symbiotic complex to survive in a given polyxenic milieu is a coevolutionary product. This explains that those gene complexes that are responsible for the biosynthesis of different non-ribosomal templated anti-microbial protective peptides (including those that are potently capable of inactivating the protist mammalian pathogen Leishmania donovanii and the gallinaceous bird pathogen Histomonas meleagridis) are co-regulated. Our approach is based on comparative anti-microbial bioassays of the culture media of the wild-type and regulatory mutant strains. We concluded that Xenorhabdus budapestensis and X. szentirmaii are excellent sources of non-ribosomal templated anti-microbial peptides that are efficient antagonists of the mentioned pathogens. Data on selective cytotoxicity of different cell-free culture media encourage us to forecast that the recently discovered "easy-PACId" research strategy is suitable for constructing entomopathogenic-bacterium (EPB) strains producing and releasing single, harmless, non-ribosomal templated anti-microbial peptides with considerable drug, (probiotic)-candidate potential.

Sciopemyia sordellii in the Neotropical region: distribution, biology, and ecology

The species Sciopemyia sordellii (Diptera, Phlebotominae) is widely distributed throughout the American continent. This raises doubts about their identity as a single biological entity and points to the occurrence of species complex. Here, we review the geographic distribution of S. sordellii in the Neotropical region, as well as data on its biology and ecology. Records were obtained from literature and from specimens deposited in biological collections. In total, 149 records were analysed, from 12 countries in America. However, after taxonomic revision, some specimens were wrongly identified as S. sordellii, especially those from Peru, putting in doubt the occurrence of the species in that country. In Brazil, it has been recorded in all five geographic regions and collected in different biomes, besides to other ecotypes such as caves. Furthermore, its presence in an anthropized environment has also been reported. Some studies have also diagnosed Leishmania DNA in S. sordellii, indicating that parasite circulation is being maintained between the reservoir hosts. The data evaluated in our study allowed us to provide updated information on the distribution of S. sordellii in America, which may be useful in the taxonomy of this species.