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Yellow fever is an endemic disease in America caused by an arbovirus that circulates in the sylvatic cycle between nonhuman primates and mosquitoes of the genera Sabethes Robineau-Desvoidy and Haemagogus Williston. The main goal of this... more
Yellow fever is an endemic disease in America caused by an arbovirus that circulates in the sylvatic cycle between nonhuman primates and mosquitoes of the genera Sabethes Robineau-Desvoidy and Haemagogus Williston. The main goal of this work is to report the distribution patterns of these genera in Argentina through an updated database built from published records as well as from own sample collections. These genera are represented in Argentina by a total of 18 species distributed in 14 provinces and 10 ecoregions. The ecoregions with greatest biodiversity were Paranense Forest, Yungas, Campos and Malezales. This database will also allow generating distribution maps for these mosquito genera, and their respective species in Argentina, to establish areas with high probability of viral circulation that are an essential input for vector surveillance, as a tool for public health decision-makers.
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Research Interests: Philosophy and Humanities
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The mosquito-borne yellow fever virus (YFV) is the cause of a zoonotic disease, with both sylvatic and urban cycles. Some mosquito species have been associated directly with transmission of the virus in South America, although the... more
The mosquito-borne yellow fever virus (YFV) is the cause of a zoonotic disease, with both sylvatic and urban cycles. Some mosquito species have been associated directly with transmission of the virus in South America, although the importance given to each species varies depending on the bibliography, geographical location, or year of publication. For Argentina, few publications have assessed the involvement of mosquito species, especially those included in the sylvatic cycle. Therefore, the goal of our paper was to gather all the information available in South America and categorize all mosquito species potentially involved in the YFV transmission cycle in Argentina according to incriminating vector criteria. Based on three main characteristics (‘Hosts’, ‘Mosquito vector’, and ‘YF outbreak’), we generated scales of importance by species, one exclusively for Argentina and another for all of South America, Sabethes albiprivus Theobald, 1903 was the most important species in Argentina; whereas the most important species in South America were Haemagogus janthinomys Dyar 1921, Hg. leucocelaenus Dyar and Shannon, 1924, and Sa. chloropterus Von Humboldt, 1819. Our review highlights the lack of research that evaluates the importance of these species for YFV transmission in Argentina, while serving as a starting point to establish priorities for research on the bionomics and vector status of these species.
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Esta base de datos está conformada por información de ocurrencias y datos ecológicos complementarios de las especies de triatominos (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) presentes en Argentina, representando hasta el momento una de las... more
Esta base de datos está conformada por información de ocurrencias y datos ecológicos complementarios de las especies de triatominos (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) presentes en Argentina, representando hasta el momento una de las bases de datos más actualizada para el país. Esta base de datos fue conformada por integrantes del Laboratorio de Triatominos del CEPAVE (CONICET-UNLP) mediante la recopilación de registros desde 1912 hasta 2019 y abarca toda la distribución geográfica de las 17 especies citadas históricamente en Argentina. Los datos se obtuvieron a partir de literatura publicada, trabajo de campo, datos proporcionados por colegas, instituciones del Ministerio de Salud de la Nación (CeReVe y CeNDIE) y de un proyecto de ciencia ciudadana (GeoVin). Los datos compilados incluyen 3 géneros y 17 especies de triatominos.
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El agente causal de la Enfermedad de Chagas (Trypanosoma cruzi) es transmitido a los mamíferos - incluyendo al ser humano - principalmente por insectos vectores de la subfamilia Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Actualmente, la... more
El agente causal de la Enfermedad de Chagas (Trypanosoma cruzi) es transmitido a los mamíferos - incluyendo al ser humano - principalmente por insectos vectores de la subfamilia Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Actualmente, la subfamilia incluye 157 especies (154 actuales y tres extintas), agrupadas en 18 géneros y cinco tribus. Presentamos la descripción de un subconjunto de datos (7852 registros) de presencias de triatominos americanos, como una actualización de la más completa e integrada base de datos disponible hasta el momento a escala continental. Los nuevos registros georreferenciados fueron obtenidos de una revisión sistemática de referencias publicadas y datos cedidos por colegas. Los nuevos datos corresponden a 101 especies y 14 géneros de 22 países americanos en el intervalo de tiempo entre 1935 y 2022. Las novedades más importantes refieren a: i) la incorporación de nuevas especies, ii) sinonimias y transferencias formales de especies, y iii) actualizaciones temporales y geográficas de registros de especies. Alentamos a la utilización de esta información, especialmente para contribuir a la vigilancia entomológica implicada en la Enfermedad de Chagas.
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Historicamente, el Chagas fue caracterizado como una problematica eminentemente rural, latinoamericana y de incumbencia casi exclusivamente sanitaria. No obstante, se trata de un problema profundamente complejo que en las ultimas decadas... more
Historicamente, el Chagas fue caracterizado como una problematica eminentemente rural, latinoamericana y de incumbencia casi exclusivamente sanitaria. No obstante, se trata de un problema profundamente complejo que en las ultimas decadas se convirtio en un verdadero desafio para la Salud Publica tanto rural como urbana, de areas endemicas como no endemicas, que trasciende las fronteras y se convierte en un fenomeno global atravesado por una multiplicidad de elementos que conforman una compleja trama. Desde el Proyecto de Extension Universitaria ??De que hablamos cuando hablamos de Chagas? Estrategias y recursos didacticos para abordar el tema en diferentes contextos educativos? de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, nos proponemos desarrollar un abordaje interdisciplinario que de cuenta de la complejidad de la problematica del Chagas. En este sentido, planteamos diversas vias de comunicacion para establecer un intercambio permanente con la comunidad, porque consideramos que no hay ...
Research Interests: History and Humanities
The western honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) is indispensable for maintaining agricultural productivity as well as the abundance and diversity of wild flowering plants. However, bees suffer from environmental pollution, parasites, and... more
The western honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) is indispensable for maintaining agricultural productivity as well as the abundance and diversity of wild flowering plants. However, bees suffer from environmental pollution, parasites, and pathogens, including viruses.
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Even though viruses evolve mainly in liquid milieu, their horizontal transmission routes often include episodes of dry environment. Along their life cycle, some insect viruses, such as viruses from Dicistroviridae family, withstand... more
Even though viruses evolve mainly in liquid milieu, their horizontal transmission routes often include episodes of dry environment. Along their life cycle, some insect viruses, such as viruses from Dicistroviridae family, withstand dehydrated conditions with yet unknown consequences in their structural stability. Here we use Atomic Force Microscopy to monitor the structural changes of viral particles of Triatoma virus (TrV) after desiccation. Our results demonstrate that TrV capsids preserve their genome inside, conserving their height after exposure to dehydrating conditions, that is in stark contrast with other viruses that expel their genome when desiccated. Moreover, empty capsids (without genome) resulted in collapsed particles after desiccation. We also explored the role of the structural ions in the dehydration process of the virions (capsid containing genome) by chelating the accessible cations from the external solvent milieu. We observed that ion suppression helps to keep ...
Research Interests: Materials Engineering, Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Chemistry, Water, and 13 moreNanotechnology, Atomic Force Microscopy, Medicine, AFM, Desiccation, Genome, Capsid, Ciencias Biológicas, Dehydration, Molecular Conformation, Biofísica, Enseñanza - Aprendizaje Ciencias Naturales Y Exactas, and Solvents
Triatoma virus occurs infecting Triatominae in the wild (Argentina) and in insectaries (Brazil). Pathogenicity of Triatoma virus has been demonstrated in laboratory; accidental infections in insectaries produce high insect mortality. When... more
Triatoma virus occurs infecting Triatominae in the wild (Argentina) and in insectaries (Brazil). Pathogenicity of Triatoma virus has been demonstrated in laboratory; accidental infections in insectaries produce high insect mortality. When more than one microorganism enters the same host, the biological interaction among them differs greatly depending on the nature and the infection order of the co-existing species of microorganisms. We studied the possible interactions between Triatoma virus (TrV) and Trypanosoma cruzi (the etiological agent of Chagas disease) in three different situations: i) when Triatoma virus is inoculated into an insect host (Triatoma infestans) previously infected with T. cruzi, ii) when T. cruzi is inoculated into T. infestans previously infected with TrV, and iii) when TrV and T. cruzi are inoculated simultaneously into the same T. infestans individual. Trypanosoma cruzi infection was found in 57% of insects in the control group for T. cruzi, whereas 85% of ...
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Se presenta el analisis de las representaciones de estudiantes de nivel secundario de la region de La Plata, que asistieron a los talleres dictados en el contexto de la ?Semana del Chagas 2011? y del ?Mes del Chagas 2012? en el Museo de... more
Se presenta el analisis de las representaciones de estudiantes de nivel secundario de la region de La Plata, que asistieron a los talleres dictados en el contexto de la ?Semana del Chagas 2011? y del ?Mes del Chagas 2012? en el Museo de La Plata. La propuesta implementada, destinada a difundir y visibilizar al tema como problematica compleja, incluyo un abordaje integral e interdisciplinario a partir de multiples miradas, involucrando diferentes recursos y actores, planteando la problematica desde cuatro grandes dimensiones (biomedica, epidemiologica, sociocultural y politico-economica). Las representaciones, identificadas a partir de expresiones plasticas y textos producidos frente a la pregunta ??Que es lo primero que se te viene a la cabeza cuando escuchas la palabra Chagas??, reflejan fuertemente el discurso biomedico hegemonico, pero dan tambien lugar a la posibilidad de ver al tema de una manera mas compleja que incorpora elementos de los aspectos sociales y politicos, necesarios para abordar la problematica.
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Research Interests: Zoology, Biology, Argentina, Environmental Monitoring, Medicine, and 15 morePhylogeny, Animals, Viruses, Invertebrate Pathology, Chagas disease, Ciencias Biológicas, Ecosystem, Triatoma, Triatominae, Captive Wild Animals, Host Pathogen Interactions, Enseñanza - Aprendizaje Ciencias Naturales Y Exactas, Triatoma infestans, Virología, and Insect Vectors
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Triatoma virus (TrV) is the only entomopathogenic virus found in triatomines. TrV replicates in cells of the midgut epithelium of triatomines, causing a high mortality rate and delayed development of the infected insect. In this work, we... more
Triatoma virus (TrV) is the only entomopathogenic virus found in triatomines. TrV replicates in cells of the midgut epithelium of triatomines, causing a high mortality rate and delayed development of the infected insect. In this work, we report an antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (AC-ELISA) and a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for detection of TrV infection. For antiserum production, rabbits and hens where inoculated with purified TrV. Antiserum reactivity was checked by immunodiffusion, and its specificity was confirmed by western blot and AC-ELISA. Totally 90 fecal samples from T. infestans were analysed. AC-ELISA and RT-PCR results correlated well with transmission electron microscopy (EM) observations, which are considered the gold standard, with Kappa values of 0.73 for AC-ELISA and 0.93 for RT-PCR when compared with EM. Applications and complementary uses of the two techniques reported in this work are discussed.
Research Interests: Archives, Biology, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Medicine, Biological Sciences, and 15 moreInsect Viruses, Animals, Hemiptera, Cattle, Gold Standard, Antiserum, Reduviidae, Triatoma, Immunoassay, Rabbits, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Mortality rate, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Triatoma virus is the only virus whose genome has been sequenced and studied in triatomines. It belongs to the family Dicistroviridae. In order to detect whether TrV has the ability to agglutinate erythrocytes of domestic and laboratory... more
Triatoma virus is the only virus whose genome has been sequenced and studied in triatomines. It belongs to the family Dicistroviridae. In order to detect whether TrV has the ability to agglutinate erythrocytes of domestic and laboratory animals, we performed a hemagglutination assay. Positive hemagglutination was found for red blood cells of guinea pigs. The HA assay could be used as a titration method, at least for purified viral particles obtained from triatomine stool. This is the first record of hemagglutinating properties for Dicistroviridae.
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Research Interests: Microbiology, Electron Microscopy, Medical Microbiology, Biology, Virology, and 15 moreTransmission Electron Microscopy, Medicine, Lepidoptera, Cell line, Virus, Animals, Aedes albopictus, Ciencias Biológicas, Insect cells, Diptera, Triatoma, RT PCR, Virología, sf, and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
Triatoma virus (TrV) is the only triatomine entomopathogenic virus identified so far. Propagation of TrV in insectaries depends on handling procedures and triatomine population dynamics. The effects of propagation can be devastating and... more
Triatoma virus (TrV) is the only triatomine entomopathogenic virus identified so far. Propagation of TrV in insectaries depends on handling procedures and triatomine population dynamics. The effects of propagation can be devastating and entire colonies must often be sacrificed to prevent spread of the virus throughout the insectary. This study found that after 41.3 days from TrV ingestion of human blood with 0.04 mg of viral protein by 5th instar Triatomainfestans, viral particles could be detected by RT-PCR; in a second horizontal transmission experiment time to detection resulted in a mean of 42.5 days. These results should rise awareness of TrV dynamics in nature, help estimate the spread of this virus when TrV-infected field-collected insects are incorporated into an insectary, and provide a base for the consideration of TrV as an agent of biological control of some species of triatomines.
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Research Interests: Crystallography, RNA, Biology, Virology, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and 15 moreMedicine, Protein Stability, Biological Sciences, Virus, Animals, Three Dimensional Imaging, Genome, Capsid, Ciencias Biológicas, Cryo Transmission Electron Microscopy, Triatoma, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Virología, Insect Vectors, and Medical and Health Sciences
Research Interests: RNA, Mass Spectrometry, Biology, Virology, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and 14 moreMedicine, Biological Sciences, Virus, Animals, Capsid, Chagas disease, Ciencias Biológicas, Triatoma, Triatominae, Gel electrophoresis, Enseñanza - Aprendizaje Ciencias Naturales Y Exactas, Capsid Protein, Virología, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Research Interests: Medical Microbiology, Biology, Ecology, Ecological Niche Modelling, Medicine, and 15 moreBiological Sciences, Insect Viruses, Habitat, Animals, MaxEnt, South America, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Ciencias Biológicas, Public health systems and services research, Time Factors, Triatoma, Triatominae, Host Pathogen Interactions, Species Specificity, and Virología
Research Interests: RNA, Biology, Virology, Medicine, Insect Viruses, and 15 moreAnimals, Biología, Pathogen, Hemiptera, Biomed, Chagas disease, Ciencias Biológicas, Reduviidae, Feces, Triatoma, RNA extraction, Enseñanza - Aprendizaje Ciencias Naturales Y Exactas, Triatoma infestans, Virología, and Identification Method
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Research Interests: Crystallography, Biology, Virology, Medicine, Biological Sciences, and 15 moreSequence alignment, Animals, Biological, Physical sciences, Capsid, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, X ray diffraction, Insect, Triatoma, Biological Pest Control, Amino Acid Sequence, X Ray Crystallography, TRV, Ciencias Fisicas, and Section
The interaction between a viral capsid and its genome governs crucial steps in the life cycle of a virus, such as assembly and genome uncoating. Tuning cargo-capsid interactions is also essential for successful design and cargo delivery... more
The interaction between a viral capsid and its genome governs crucial steps in the life cycle of a virus, such as assembly and genome uncoating. Tuning cargo-capsid interactions is also essential for successful design and cargo delivery in engineered viral systems. Here we investigate the interplay between cargo and capsid for the picorna-like Triatoma virus using a combined native mass spectrometry and atomic force microscopy approach. We propose a topology and assembly model in which heterotrimeric pentons that consist of five copies of structural proteins VP1, VP2 and VP3 are the free principal units of assembly. The interpenton contacts are established primarily by VP2. The dual role of the genome is first to stabilize the densely packed virion and, second, on an increase in pH to trigger uncoating by relaxing the stabilizing interactions with the capsid. Uncoating occurs through a labile intermediate state of the virion that reversibly disassembles into pentons with the concomitant release of protein VP4.
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Triatoma virus (TrV) e um virus que infecta triatomineos provocando alta taxa de mortalidade, atraso no desenvolvimento e diminuicao da fertilidade. Atualmente sao descritas 151 especies de triatomineos, potenciais vetores de Trypanosoma... more
Triatoma virus (TrV) e um virus que infecta triatomineos provocando alta taxa de mortalidade, atraso no desenvolvimento e diminuicao da fertilidade. Atualmente sao descritas 151 especies de triatomineos, potenciais vetores de Trypanosoma cruzi , agente etiologico da doenca de Chagas que acomete 6-7 milhoes de pessoas. O objetivo do trabalho foi contribuir para a utilizacao de TrV como ferramenta de controle biologico de Triatominae. O isolamento e a purificacao de TrV utilizado como controle, foram realizados a partir de amostras de fezes de insetos da Argentina. Triatoma virus e as particulas vazias de TrV, foram purificados na Unidade de Biofisica (CSIC-UPV/EHU), Espanha. Os especimes de Triatoma rubrovaria estudados sao oriundos do Laboratorio de Parasitologia da Faculdade de Ciencias Farmaceuticas de Araraquara. Para a identificacao molecular de TrV foi realizada a extracao de RNA com o Kit M-MLV Reverse Transcriptase . Para a reacao de PCR foram utilizados 5 μl de cDNA obtidos...
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Vectors of Chagas disease are currently controlled by employing several chemical insecticides though there is a continuing search for alternative ecological methods against disease causing vectors. An effective method includes the use of... more
Vectors of Chagas disease are currently controlled by employing several chemical insecticides though there is a continuing search for alternative ecological methods against disease causing vectors. An effective method includes the use of specific pathogens as biological control agents. The aim of this work was to describe a complete experimental inoculation protocol in triatomines. The intrahaemocoelic inoculation technique can be applied to inoculate different kinds of microorganisms such as viruses, fungi, bacteria and protozoa; so it could be considered a useful tool in infective bioassays. This article includes results from evaluations of Triatoma virus (TrV, Dicistroviridae: Cripavirus) infectivity in several triatomine species. The protocol, also suitable for any other kind of insects, describes the materials and steps required to safely inoculate the insects, preventing any damage and/or contamination.
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Supplementary material 1 from: Ceccarelli S, Balsalobre A, Cano ME, Canale D, Lobbia P, Stariolo R, Rabinovich JE, Marti GA (2020) Analysis of Chagas disease vectors occurrence data: the Argentinean triatomine species database. Biodiversity Data Journal 8: e58076. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e5...more
Esta base de datos está conformada por información de ocurrencias y datos ecológicos complementarios de las especies de triatominos (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) presentes en Argentina, representando hasta el momento una de las... more
Esta base de datos está conformada por información de ocurrencias y datos ecológicos complementarios de las especies de triatominos (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) presentes en Argentina, representando hasta el momento una de las bases de datos más actualizada para el país. Esta base de datos fue conformada por integrantes del Laboratorio de Triatominos del CEPAVE (CONICET-UNLP) mediante la recopilación de registros desde 1912 hasta 2019 y abarca toda la distribución geográfica de las 17 especies citadas históricamente en Argentina. Los datos se obtuvieron a partir de literatura publicada, trabajo de campo, datos proporcionados por colegas, instituciones del Ministerio de Salud de la Nación (CeReVe y CeNDIE) y de un proyecto de ciencia ciudadana (GeoVin). Los datos compilados incluyen 3 géneros y 17 especies de triatominos.
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Triatoma infestans (Klug, 1834) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), the main vector of Chagas disease in South America, feeds primarily on humans, but ethical reasons preclude carrying out demographical studies using people. Thus, most laboratory... more
Triatoma infestans (Klug, 1834) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), the main vector of Chagas disease in South America, feeds primarily on humans, but ethical reasons preclude carrying out demographical studies using people. Thus, most laboratory studies of T. infestans are conducted using bird or mammal live hosts that may result in different demographic parameters from those obtained on human blood. Therefore, it is of interest to determine whether the use of an artificial feeder with human blood would be operational to rear triatomines and estimate population growth rates. We estimated life history traits and demographic parameters using an artificial feeder with human blood and compared them with those obtained on live hens. Both groups of T. infestans were kept under constant conditions [28 ± 1°C, 40 ± 5% relative humidity, a photoperiod of 12:12 (L:D) h] and fed weekly. On the basis of age-specific survival and age-specific fecundity, we calculated the intrinsic rate of natural increase ...
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The only virus sequenced and studied in triatomines is the Triatoma virus, from the Dicistroviridae family, which causes delayed development, reduced oviposition, and premature death of infected insects. With the goal of expanding the... more
The only virus sequenced and studied in triatomines is the Triatoma virus, from the Dicistroviridae family, which causes delayed development, reduced oviposition, and premature death of infected insects. With the goal of expanding the sequences already obtained in previous years and verifying if any changes occurred in their genomic sequences, 68 samples of triatomines from several provinces of Argentina were analyzed. Sixteen positive samples were obtained by Reverse Transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction using the VP3-VP1 subregion of open reading frame-2 as a diagnostic method; after sequencing, 11 samples were obtained from Triatoma infestans. These new sequences showed no significant differences in the analyzed regions, which were not grouped by species or habitat or geographical distribution. There were no differences when compared with the sequences found during 2002-2012, all obtained from the wild. We conclude that despite being an RNA virus, the different sequences s...