Browsing by Author "Campos-Soto, Ricardo"

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    Blood-Meal Sources and Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Coastal and Insular Triatomine Bugs from the Atacama Desert of Chile
    (2022-04-08) Quiroga, Nicol; Correa, Juana P.; Campos-Soto, Ricardo; San Juan, Esteban; Araya-Donoso, Raúl; Díaz-Campusano, Gabriel; González, Christian R.; Botto-Mahan, Carezza
    Mepraia parapatrica is one of the lesser known and less abundant sylvatic triatomine species naturally infected by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. M. parapatrica lives in sympatry with T. cruzi-infected rodents, but only birds, reptiles, and marine mammals have been reported as blood-meal sources of this vector species by serology. The distribution range of this kissing bug overlaps with fishers’ settlements and tourist areas, and therefore the study of the blood-meal sources of this triatomine species is relevant. Here, we determined the blood-meal sources of M. parapatrica by NGS or standard sequencing from a coastal mainland area and an island in northern Chile, and T. cruzi infection by real-time PCR. The blood-meals of. M parapatrica included 61.3% reptiles, 35.5% mammals (including humans) and 3.2% birds. Feeding on reptiles was more frequent on the mainland, while on the island feeding on mammals was more frequent. The presence of T. cruzi-infected triatomine bugs and humans as part of the diet of M. parapatrica in both areas represents an epidemiological threat and potential risk to the human population visiting or established in these areas. Currently there are no tools to control wild triatomines; these results highlight the potential risk of inhabiting these areas and the necessity of developing information campaigns for the community and surveillance actions.
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    DETECCIÓN DE Trypanosoma cruzi EN LAGARTOS Microlophus atacamensis DE UNA ISLA COSTERA DEL DESIERTO DE ATACAMA
    (2024-06) Borcosque. Josefa; Campos-Soto, Ricardo; Quiroga, Nicol; Cianferoni, Franco; Díaz-Campusano, Gabriel; Marcos, José Luis; Botto-Mahan, Carezza; Torres-Pérez, Fernando
    La enfermedad de Chagas es producida por el parásito Trypanosoma cruzi, el cual está presente en vinchucas y sangre/tejidos de mamíferos, considerándose las aves refractarias a la infección. Mepraia es un género de vinchuca responsable de transmitir T. cruzi en el ciclo silvestre de Chile. Se ha evidenciado la presencia de ejemplares de Mepraia infectados con T. cruzi en la Isla Santa María (Región de Antofagasta). En esta isla no se ha registrado presencia de micromamíferos y los vertebrados más comunes son el lagarto Microlophus atacamensis, jotes y aves marinas. En las vinchucas de esta isla se ha reportado un alto porcentaje de infección e incluso infecciones mixtas, con más de un DTU de T. cruzi, lo que está comúnmente asociado a ecosistemas con una alta biodiversidad y abundancia de mamíferos. Esto contrasta con la nula captura de micromamíferos reportada en esta isla. Considerando que recientemente se ha publicado que los reptiles también son hospederos de T. cruzi, se puede inferir que los lagartos M. atacamensis podrían estar manteniendo la infección de T. cruzi en la Isla Santa María. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar si individuos de M. atacamensis de la Isla Santa María son hospederos de T. cruzi. En 33 muestras de sangre de M. atacamensis se detectó T. cruzi mediante la amplificación de un segmento de ADN kinetoplastídico por PCR convencional y un segmento nuclear de T. cruzi por real time PCR. Se determinó un 60.6% de infección mediante PCR convencional, mientras que por real time PCR un 51.1%. Se concluye que M. atacamensis es un hospedero de T. cruzi, sugiriendo que podría ser un reservorio clave que está mantenido la infección en la Isla Santa María. Estos resultados contribuyen al entendimiento del ciclo de vida que desarrolla T. cruzi en esta particular isla del extremo norte del desierto de Atacama.
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    Introducing Chaos Theory: A Life Sciences Students’ Perspective
    (2024-10-18) Perea Martins, João E. M.; Oyanedel, Eduardo; Campos-Soto, Ricardo
    This article details a concise in-class workshop to introduce life science students to basic chaos theory concepts, which is a modern subject and has high potential for applications in life sciences and other fields, justifying its knowledge. The teaching approach is based on a pragmatic strategy that uses only the essential mathematical and computing concepts required to reach the learning outcome, which this article explains step-by-step and, therefore, at least in expectation, even students or professors with no previous software knowledge could understand them. The proposed educational approach uses a meaningful learning approach, and population growth models as an educational anchor subject, which is a common subject for life science students and may be intuitive for students from other areas. Feedback from 70 students surveyed after the workshop yielded positive results, and 72.9% of the students expressed confidence in explaining basic chaos theory concepts following the session, and 94.7% stated they would recommend it to their peers, which underscores the present proposal feasibility.
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    Lizards as Silent Hosts of Trypanosoma cruzi
    (2022-06) Botto-Mahan, Carezza; Correa, Juana P.; Araya-Donoso, Raúl; Farías, Francisca; San Juan, Esteban; Quiroga, Nicol; Campos-Soto, Ricardo; Reyes-Olivares, Claudio; González-Acuña, Daniel
    We assessed 4 lizard species in Chile for Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, and 1 species for its ability to transmit the protozoan to uninfected kissing bugs. All lizard species were infected, and the tested species was capable of transmitting the protozoan, highlighting their role as T. cruzi reservoirs.
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    Phylogenetic Analyses of Lizards from the Chilean Humboldt Archipelago Reveal a New Species for the Chañaral Island (Squamata: Liolaemidae)
    (2023-11-19) Campos-Soto, Ricardo; Rodríguez-Valenzuela, Evelyn; Bruna, Yareta; Díaz-Campusano, Gabriel; Cianferoni, Franco; Boric-Bargetto, Dusan; Torres-Pérez, Fernando
    The Humboldt Archipelago, situated on Chile’s north-central coast, is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity. However, lizards of the Liolaemus genus are a particularly understudied group in this archipelago. Liolaemus genus is divided into two clades: chiliensis and nigromaculatus. Within the nigromaculatus clade the zapallarensis group is restricted to the semi-arid and arid coastal habitats of the Atacama Desert in north-central Chile. While it has been reported that lizards from the zapallarensis group inhabit various islands within the Humboldt Archipelago, there has been limited knowledge regarding their specific species identification. To identify the lizard species inhabiting these islands, we conducted phylogenetic analyses using a mitochondrial gene and examined morphological characteristics. Our findings reveal that lizards from the Damas, Choros, and Gaviota islands belong to Liolaemus silvai. In contrast, the lizards on Chañaral Island form a distinct and previously unrecognised group, clearly distinguishable from Liolaemus silvai. In conclusion, our study not only confirms the presence of L. silvai on the Damas, Choros, and Gaviota islands but also describes a new lizard species on Chañaral Island named Liolaemus carezzae sp. nov. These findings contribute valuable insights into the biodiversity of these islands and introduce a newly discovered endemic taxon to the region, enriching our understanding of Chile’s unique island ecosystems.
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    Testing Phylogeographic Hypotheses in Mepraia (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Suggests a Complex Spatio-Temporal Colonization in the Coastal Atacama Desert
    (2022-04-29) Campos-Soto, Ricardo; Rodríguez-Valenzuela, Evelyn; Díaz-Campusano, Gabriel; Boric-Bargetto, Dusan; Zúñiga-Reinoso, Álvaro; Cianferoni, Franco; Torres-Pérez, Fernando
    Mepraia is a genus (Triatominae) endemic to Chile and a vector of Trypanosoma cruzi. Alternative phylogeographic hypotheses have been suggested for Mepraia. We tested different colonization routes hypothesized using mitochondrial sequences and phylogeographic approaches to select the best-supported hypothesis. Our results suggest that, after the split from the sister genus Triatoma at ~4.3 Mya, Mepraia formed two main clades at ~2.1 Mya. The northern clade diverged from Mepraia sp. ~1.7 Mya, giving rise to M. parapatrica and M. gajardoi about ~1.4 Mya. The southern clade originated M. spinolai ~1.68 Mya. We suggest that Mepraia had an origin in the north-central Andes along with orogenic processes, reinforced by hyperaridity during the Pliocene. The hyperarid cycle would have separated the southern and northern clades. Then, in the northern clade, dispersal occurred north and south from the centre through corridors during the Pleistocene Climatic Oscillations. Climate changes may have induced a major speciation process in the Atacama Desert, while the more homogeneous habitat colonized by the southern clade led to only one, but structured, species.