Single-cell atlas of <i>Leishmania</i> development in sandflies reveals the heterogeneity of transmitted parasites and their role in infection.

ABSTRACT: Sandfly vectors transmit Leishmania through egestion of parasites into the host skin. The transmissible dose is shaped by Leishmania development in the sandfly gut, described as a sequential differentiation of promastigote morphotypes. Apart from isolated mammal-infective metacyclic promastigotes, little is known about the transcriptional programs and molecular markers for other stages coinhabiting the midgut in mature infections and cotransmitted by the sandfly bite. Here, we elucidate the single-cell transcriptomic complexity of Leishmania major colonizing its natural vector Phlebotomus duboscqi at early and late infection, providing markers for three transmissible stages. Contrary to prevailing models, our analyses indicate a nonlinear developmental progressi

SUBMITTER: Catta-Preta CMC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11670217 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature