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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Sand Fly (Phlebotomus papatasi) Embryo Microinjection for CRISPR/Cas9 Mutagenesis
Published on: November 17, 2020
Phlebotomine sand flies and Leishmania parasites: friends or foes?
1Intracellular Parasite Biology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease/NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. skamhawi@niaid.nih.gov
Abstract:
Leishmania parasites need phlebotomine sand flies to complete their life cycle and to propagate. This review looks at Leishmania-sand fly interactions as the parasites develop from amastigotes to infectious metacyclics, highlighting recent findings concerning the evolutionary adaptations that ensure survival of the parasites. Such adaptations include secretion of phosphoglycans, which protect the parasite from digestive enzymes; production of chitinases that degrade the stomodeal valve of the sand fly; secretion of a neuropeptide that arrests midgut and hindgut peristalsis; and attaching to the midgut to avoid expulsion.
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