Presence of Wolbachia in Sandfly Populations and Correlation with Pesticide Resistance

Leishmaniasis is a serious skin disease, affecting 12 million people worldwide, caused by a protozoan vectored by sand flies. These flies can harbor the bacterium Wolbachia, a microorganism which blurs the line between symbiont and parasite. On one hand, it skews sex ratios in sand fly populations but, on the other hand, it confers certain benefits, specifically increased insecticide resistance. In closely related flies, specifically the mosquito, pesticide resistance is developed when Wolbachia infection rates increase. The range of impacts of Wolbachia on their hosts may offer a secondary control pathway for sand fly populations where pesticide resistance has developed, inhibiting the effectiveness of the pesticide. A better understanding of Wolbachia can offer insight into how to maintain pesticide effectiveness. Before Wolbachia can be exploited for this purpose, basic information about infection rates and titers within populations must be gathered. My research aims to determine the presence and titers of Wolbachia infections in different sand fly populations