Leishmania sand fly-transmission is disrupted by Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1 bacteria
Most human pathogenic Leishmania species are zoonotic agents; therefore, sand fly-based control strategies are essential to prevent parasite circulation. Here, we used the Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1 strain, that inhibits the development of Plasmodium in mosquitoes, but in the context of Leishmania-infected sand flies. We show that D. tsuruhatensis TC1 colonizes the midgut of Phlebotomus duboscqi sand flies and impacts the development of L. major parasites, independently of the colonization timing. This phenotype is likely an indirect consequence of D. tsuruhatensis colonization, related with the induction of sand fly gut dysbiosis. Importantly, Leishmania-infected, D. tsuruhatensis-fed sand flies are less able to transmit L. major parasites and cause disease in mice. Modelling supports the disruption of disease endemicity in the field, highlighting D. tsuruhatensis as a promising agent for the control of leishmaniasis.
Authors
- Laura Willen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8027-8621)
- Marcelo Jacobs‐Lorena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0449-432X)
- Wei Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0300-7470)
- Janneth Rodrigues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9693-1958)
- Pedro Cecílio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5945-5040)
- Fabiano Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7924-8038)
- Tiago D. Serafim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1606-559X)
- Jesus Gilberto Valenzuela (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5589-9450)
- Luis Fernando Chaves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5301-2764)
- Luana Aparecida Rogerio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0136-7413)
- Pablo Castañeda-Casado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0514-7306)
- Melina Garcia Guizzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1650-1710)
- Luíza dos Santos Félix (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2136-4642)
- Eva Iniguez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9027-0523)
- Yue Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6349-6849)
- Claudio Meneses
- Kristina Tang
Institutions
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- GlaxoSmithKline (France) (FR)
- National Institute of Business (KH)
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- Vector (United States) (US)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (US)
- GMV Innovating Solutions (Spain) (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58769-4
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 20.66
Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases