Assessing Wolbachia circulation in wild populations of phlebotomine sand flies from Spain and Morocco: implications for control of leishmaniasis
We confirmed the circulation of different Wolbachia strains in all sand fly species investigated. All L. infantum proven or suspected vectors shared the same, or a closely related, Wolbachia haplotype. The haplotype bearing the loop insertion was found in the locality undergoing an anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis outbreak. These extracellular loops might have some role in enhancing or inhibiting the development of Leishmania and other pathogens in sand flies. These findings are very promising and highlight the need to further investigate the tripartite interactions between Wolbachia strain, Leishmania species, and sand fly species/lineage.
Authors
- Joaquina Martín‐Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3981-9227)
- Manuel Morales‐Yuste (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8414-5052)
- Francisco Morillas‐Márquez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4399-3092)
- Victoriano Díaz‐Sáez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6201-0982)
- Victoriano Corpas‐López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9152-6486)
- Arantxa López‐López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6081-7608)
- Andrés Torres‐Llamas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2502-8005)
- Patricia Ibáñez‐De Haro
Institutions
- Universidad de Granada (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Parasites & Vectors
- Published
- 2025-04-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-06771-6
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.69
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Universidad de Granada
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación