TRYPANOSOMA RANGELI : SEM PROFILES DURING THE MIGRATION FROM THE MID-GUT TO THE SALIVARY GLANDS OF A REDUVIID BUG RHODNIUS PROLIXUS VIA DORSAL VESSEL

Metamorphosis of Trypanosoma rangeli during the migration in the insect host, Rhodonius prolixius, was first documented by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After infection, the parasites reach the insect alimentally tract and then they penetrate into the mid-gut and eventually emerge in the hemolymph of the abdominal cavity. From the abdominal cavity, both the parasites and the hemolymph are propelled to the thorax by the dorsal vessel (aorta pump), the end of which is terminated very near the salivary glands. Thus, once these parasites invade the abdominal cavity, they finally appear in the salivary-glands via the transport by the dorsal vessel. The parasites gradually change themselves in shape during the migration. In the present study, we focused on the morphological characteristics of T. rangeli at individual stage in the vector by SEM and revealed some new findings in morphology and confirmed a migration route of this species. These results suggest that Guatemalan T. rangeli is mainly transmitted through the salivary gland.