Africa's Bane--the Tsetse Fly

Tsetse fly microbiota: form and function

Tsetse flies are the primary vectors of African trypanosomes, which cause Human and Animal African trypanosomiasis in 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These flies have also established symbiotic associations with bacterial and viral microorganisms. Laboratory-reared tsetse flies harbor up to four vertically transmitted organisms-obligate Wigglesworthia, commensal Sodalis, parasitic Wolbachia...

Human population growth and the extinction of the tsetse fly

Agricultural expansion is a major cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. In Africa, biologists have observed that the populations of some tsetse species, which transmit human and livestock trypanosomosis, decline or disappear as human populations grow and farmers clear fly habitat for cultivation. The objectives of this paper are to synthesize the available information concerning human and tsets...

Tsetse EP Protein Protects the Fly Midgut from Trypanosome Establishment

African trypanosomes undergo a complex developmental process in their tsetse fly vector before transmission back to a vertebrate host. Typically, 90% of fly infections fail, most during initial establishment of the parasite in the fly midgut. The specific mechanism(s) underpinning this failure are unknown. We have previously shown that a Glossina-specific, immunoresponsive molecule, tsetse EP p...

Development in the Tsetse Fly Obligate Symbionts Activate Immune System

Nutrient provisioning facilitates homeostasis between tsetse fly (Diptera: Glossinidae) symbionts.

Host-associated microbial interactions may involve genome complementation, driving-enhanced communal efficiency and stability. The tsetse fly (Diptera: Glossinidae), the obligate vector of African trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei subspp.), harbours two enteric Gammaproteobacteria symbionts: Wigglesworthia glossinidia and Sodalis glossinidius. Host coevolution has streamlined the Wigglesworthia ...