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. 2019 Aug 14;9(1):11820.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48350-7.

The changing distribution of Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908 and its Mediterranean sandfly vectors in the last 140 kys

Attila J Trájer  1 , Viktor Sebestyén  2
Affiliations

The changing distribution of Leishmania infantum Nicolle, 1908 and its Mediterranean sandfly vectors in the last 140 kys

Attila J Trájer et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The understanding of the effects of past climatic changes on the distribution of vector arthropods can strongly support the understanding of the future potential impact of anthropogenic climatic change on the geographical risk of vector-borne diseases. The zoogeographical patterns of the European sandfly vectors may suffer the continuously changing climate of the last 140 kys. The former range of L. infantum and six Phlebotomus species were modelled for the Last Interglacial, the Last Glacial Maximum and the Mid-Holocene Periods. It was found that the potential distribution of the parasite was much smaller in the Last Glacial Period L. infantum mainly could persist in the western shelves of the Mediterranean Sea. West and East Mediterranean sandfly species inhabited partly distinct refugia. The Apennine Peninsula, Sicily and the Iberian refugium formed a habitat chain along with the coastal areas of the West Mediterranean Basin. There was no direct connection between the Eastern and the Western sandfly refugia in the last 140 kys. The modelled distribution of sandfly taxa for the Middle Holocene Period can explain the relict populations of sandfly taxa in such Central European countries. The former genetic studies strongly confirm the existence of the modelled glacial refugees.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The current observed and the potential distribution of Ph. ariasi (A), Ph. neglectus (B), Ph. papatasi (C), Ph. perfiliewi (D), Ph. perniciosis (E) and Ph. tobbi (F).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The potential distribution of L. infantum according to the climate simulations. (LIP: A, LGM: B, MHP: C, current: D) with the current observed range of the parasite in Europe (in D).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The potential distribution of L. infantum (A: LIP, C: LGM, E: MHP, G: current) and the summarized potential distribution of the six Mediterranean L. infantum vector sandfly species (B: LIP, D: LGM, F: MHP, H: current) according to the climate simulations.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Projection of the potential distribution of L. infantum and the summarized potential distribution of the six Mediterranean L. infantum vector sandfly species (A: LIP, B: LGM, C: MHP, D: current) according to the climate simulations.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The potential distribution of Ph. ariasi (A), Ph. neglectus (B), Ph. papatasi (C), Ph. perfiliewi (D), Ph. perniciosis (E), Ph. tobbi (F) during the LIP.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The potential diversity of the six Mediterranean L. infantum vector sandfly species during the LIP (A), LGM (B), MHP (C) and the current period (D).
Figure 7
Figure 7
The potential distribution of Ph. ariasi (A), Ph. neglectus (B), Ph. papatasi (C), Ph. perfiliewi (D), Ph. perniciosis (E), Ph. tobbi (F) during the LGM.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The potential distribution of Ph. ariasi (A), Ph. neglectus (B), Ph. papatasi (C), Ph. perfiliewi (D), Ph. perniciosis (E), Ph. tobbi (F) during the MHP.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Projection of potential distribution of the six Mediterranean L. infantum vector sandfly species (A–C) and L. infantum (D–F) in the comparison in the following time intervals: the LIP to the LGM’s and the LGM to the MHP’s and the MHP to the current’s potential distribution patterns.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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