Browsing by Author "Lazzari, Claudio R."
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- Countercurrent heat exchange and thermoregulation during blood-feeding in kissing bugs.Lahondère, Chloé; Insausti, Teresita C.; Paim, Rafaela M. M.; Luan, Xiaojie; Belev, George; Pereira, MMarcos H.; Ianowski, Juan P.; Lazzari, Claudio R. (2017-11-21)Blood-sucking insects experience thermal stress at each feeding event on endothermic vertebrates. We used thermography to examine how kissing-bugs Rhodnius prolixus actively protect themselves from overheating. During feeding, these bugs sequester and dissipate the excess heat in their heads while maintaining an abdominal temperature close to ambient. We employed a functional-morphological approach, combining histology, µCT and X-ray-synchrotron imaging to shed light on the way these insects manage the flow of heat across their bodies. The close alignment of the circulatory and ingestion systems, as well as other morphological characteristics, support the existence of a countercurrent heat exchanger in the head of R. prolixus, which decreases the temperature of the ingested blood before it reaches the abdomen. This kind of system has never been described before in the head of an insect. For the first time, we show that countercurrent heat exchange is associated to thermoregulation during blood-feeding.
- Effects of the Environmental Temperature on Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Mosquitoes: A ReviewReinhold, Joanna M.; Lazzari, Claudio R.; Lahondère, Chloé (MDPI, 2018-11-06)The temperature of the environment is one of the most important abiotic factors affecting the life of insects. As poikilotherms, their body temperature is not constant, and they rely on various strategies to minimize the risk of thermal stress. They have been thus able to colonize a large spectrum of habitats. Mosquitoes, such as Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, vector many pathogens, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. The spread of these diseases has become a major global health concern, and it is predicted that climate change will affect the mosquitoes’ distribution, which will allow these insects to bring new pathogens to naïve populations. We synthesize here the current knowledge on the impact of temperature on the mosquito flight activity and host-seeking behavior (1); ecology and dispersion (2); as well as its potential effect on the pathogens themselves and how climate can affect the transmission of some of these pathogens (3).