Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-vpsfw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-24T02:57:18.007Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparative study on Rickettsia-like organisms in the midgut epithelial cells of different Glossina species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

M. K. Shaw  and
S. K. Moloo
M. K. Shaw
Affiliation:
International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
S. K. Moloo
Affiliation:
International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The midgut epithelium of Glossina morsitans centralis, G. austeni, G. pallidipes, G. palpalis palpalis, G. p. gambiensis, G. fuscipes fuscipes, G. tachinoides and G. brevipalpis from ILRAD-bred colonies was examined, by electron microscopy, for the presence and distribution of Rickettsia-like organisms (RLOs). RLOs were present in the midgut epithelial cells of all non-teneral tsetse. In G. m. centralis, G. pallidipes and, to a much lesser extent, G. brevipalpis, RLOs were numerous and were present in all the specimens examined. RLOs were present in fewer numbers in the epithelial cells of tenerals of these three tsetse species. In contrast, RLOs occurred in very much lower numbers within the midgut cells of nonteneral G. austeni, G. p. palpalis, G. p. gambiensis, G. f. fuscipes and G. tachinoides; were not seen in every specimen, and were rarely observed in the midgut cells of teneral tsetse. The RLOs were typical rod-shaped bacteria with an inner and outer membrane, which occurred free within the host cell cytoplasm and appeared to cause no obvious pathology. The micro-organisms divided by binary fission and at least two distinct morphological forms plus a range of intermediate forms were seen in the midgut cells. A comparison of the presence and numbers of RLOs within the midgut cells and the midgut infection rates of both Trypanosoma congolense and T. b. brucei, both between Glossina species and also within the same stock of tsetse, clearly indicates that the ability of trypanosomes to establish and develop to mature infections is unlikely to be correlated solely with the presence of RLOs within the tsetse midgut.

Keywords

Rickettsia-like organisms (RLOs)Glossina spp.midgut epithelial cells
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 102 , Issue 2 , April 1991 , pp. 193 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Armbruster, B. L. & Kellenberger, E. (1986). Low temperature embedding. In Ultrastructure Techniques for Microorganisms (ed. Aldrich, H. C. & Todd, W. J.), pp. 267–95. New York and London: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, F. E., Turco, J. & Winkler, H. H. (1987). Rickettsia prowazekii requires host cell serine and glycine for growth. Infection and Immunity 55, 240–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baker, R. D., Maudlin, I., Milligan, P. J. M., Molyneux, D. H. & Welburn, S. C. (1990). The possible role of Rickettsia-like organisms in trypanosomiasis epidemiology. Parasitology 100, 209–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellis, D. S. & Maudlin, I. (1987). Salivary gland hyperplasia in wild caught tsetse from Zimbabwe. Entomology Experimental and Applied 45, 167–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hecker, H. & Moloo, S. K. (1981). Influence of Trypanosoma (Trypanozoon) brucei infection on the fine structure of midgut cells of Glossina m. morsitans. Parasitology 82, 95–116.Google Scholar
Huebner, E. & Davey, K. G. (1974). Bacteroids in the ovaries of a tsetse fly. Nature, London 249, 260–1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masake, R. A., Nantulya, V. M., Musoke, A. J., Moloo, S. K. & Nguli, K. (1987). Parasitological and serological characterization of Trypanosoma congolense isolates from cattle introduced on a ranch in Kilifi, Kenya. Parasitology 94, 349–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maudlin, I. & Ellis, D. S. (1985). Association between intracellular rickettsial-like infections of midgut cells and susceptibility to trypanosome infection in Glossina spp. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde 71, 683–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maudlin, I. & Welburn, S. C. (1988). Tsetse immunity and the transmission of trypanosomes. Parasitology Today 4, 109–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moloo, S. K. & Kutuza, S. B. (1988 a). Comparative study on the infection rates of different laboratory strains of Glossina species by Trypanosoma congolense. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 2, 253–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moloo, S. K. & Kutuza, S. B. (1988 b). Comparative study on the susceptibility of different Glossina species to Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection. Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 39, 211–13.Google ScholarPubMed
Moloo, S. K., Kutuza, S. B., Bakakimpa, I., Kamunya, G. W., Desai, J. & Pereira, H. (1985). Colonization of Glossina species and studies on some aspects of their vector role. OAU/STRC Publication No 113, 314–21.Google Scholar
Moloo, S. K. & Shaw, M. K. (1989). Rickettsial infections of midgut cells are not associated with susceptibility of Glossina morsitans centralis to Trypanosoma congolense infection. Acta Tropica 46, 223–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pell, P. E. & Southern, D. I. (1975). Symbionts in the female tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans. Experientia 31, 650–1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinnock, D. E. & Hess, R. T. (1974). The occurrence of intracellular rickettsia-like organisms in the tsetse flies, Glossina morsitans, G. fuscipes, G. brevipalpis and G. pallidipes. Acta Tropica 31, 70–9.Google ScholarPubMed
Reinhardt, C., Steiger, R. & Hecker, H. (1972). Ultrastructural study of the midgut mycetome-bacteroids of the tsetse flies Glossina morsitans. G. fuscipes, and G. brevipalpis (Diptera, Brachycera). Acta Tropica 29, 280–8.Google Scholar
Roberts, M. J. & Pell, P. E. (1976). Micro-organisms in the midgut of tsetse fly larvae. Microbios 17, 213–20.Google ScholarPubMed
Roubaud, E. (1919). Les particularités de la nutrition et la vie symbiotique chez les mouches tsétsés. Annales de l'Institut Pasteur 33, 490–536.Google Scholar
Todd, W. J. (1986). Effects of specimen preparation on the apparent ultrastructure of microorganisms. In Ultrastructure Techniques for Microorganisms (ed. Aldrich, H. C. & Todd, W. J.), pp. 87–100. New York and London: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, E. (1973). Growth and physiology of rickettsiae. Bacteriological Reviews 37, 259–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wigglesworth, V. B. (1929). Digestion in the tsetse fly: a study of structure and function. Parasitology 21, 288–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wijers, D. J. B. (1958). Factors that may influence the infection rate of Glossina palpalis with Trypanosoma gambiense. 1. The age of the fly at the time of the infected feed. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 52, 385–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winkler, H. H. & Turco, J. (1988). Rickettsia prowazekii and the host cell: entry, growth and control of the parasite. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology 138, 81–107.Google ScholarPubMed