The Triatomini and Rhodniini (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) tribes include the most diverse Chagas disease vectors; however, the phylogenetic relationships within the tribes remain obscure. This study provides the most comprehensive phylogeny of Triatomini reported to date.
A new species of the genusTriatomaLaporte, 1832 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) is described based on specimens collected in the department of Huehuetenango, Guatemala.Triatomahuehuetenanguensissp. n.is closely related toT.dimidiata(Latreille, 1811), with the following main morphological differences: lighter color; smaller overall size, including head length; and width and length of the pronotum. NaturalTrypanosomacruzi(Chagas, 1909) infection, coupled with its presence in domestic habitats, makes this species a potentially important vector ofTrypanosomacruziin Guatemala.
In this paper,Triatomamopansp. n.is described based on five males and six females collected in the Rio Frio cave, Cayo District, Belize. This species is similar toTriatomadimidiata(Latreille), but can be distinguished by characters found on the pronotum, legs, and abdomen. Geometric morphometry and phylogenetic comparisons are also provided. Presently, the species is known only from the type locality and is a potential Chagas vector.
1 March 2018 in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Background and Methods: To investigate virus diversity in hot zones of probable pathogen spillover, 54 oral-fecal swabs were processed from five bat species collected from three cave systems in Kenya, using metagenome sequencing. Results: Viruses belonging to the Astroviridae, Circoviridae, Coronaviridae, Dicistroviridae, Herpesviridae and Retroviridae were detected, with unclassified viruses. Retroviral sequences were prevalent; 74.1% of all samples were positive, with distinct correlations between virus, site and host bat species. Detected retroviruses comprised Myotis myotis, Myotis ricketti, Myotis daubentonii and Galidia endogenous retroviruses, murine leukemia virus-related virus and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum retrovirus (RFRV). A near-complete genome of a local RFRV strain with identical genome organization and 2.8% nucleotide divergence from the prototype isolate was characterized. Bat coronavirus sequences were detected with a prevalence of 24.1%, where analyses on the ORF1ab region revealed a novel alphacoronavirus lineage. Astrovirus sequences were detected in 25.9%of all samples, with considerable diversity. In 9.2% of the samples, other viruses including Actinidia yellowing virus 2, bat betaherpesvirus, Bole tick virus 4, Cyclovirus and Rhopalosiphum padi virus were identified. Conclusions: Further monitoring of bats across Kenya is essential to facilitate early recognition of possibly emergent zoonotic viruses.