Hemi-nested PCR and RFLP methodologies for identifying blood meals of the Chagas disease vector, Triatoma infestans.

ABSTRACT: Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, is transmitted by hematophagous reduviid bugs within the subfamily Triatominae. These vectors take blood meals from a wide range of hosts, and their feeding behaviors have been used to investigate the ecology and epidemiology of T. cruzi. In this study we describe two PCR-based methodologies that amplify a fragment of the 16S mitochondrial rDNA, aimed to improve the identification of blood meal sources for Triatoma infestans: a.--Sequence analyses of two heminested PCRs that allow the identification of mammalian and avian species, and b.--restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis from the mammalian PCR to identify and differentiate multi-host blood meals. Findings from both methodologies indicate that host DNA could b

SUBMITTER: Roellig DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3770599 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature