Figure 3

Defensin expression analysis in L. longipalpis fed with bacteria or orally infected with Leishmania. Female L. Longipalpis fed on suspensions of (A) E. coli; (B) Ochrobactrum sp.; (C) S. marcescens; (D) P. agglomerans; (E) M. luteus, were collected at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after feeding (gray bars). Insects fed on sterile sucrose solution were used as control (white bars). (F) Female L. longipalpis fed on blood seeded with L. mexicana were collected at 24, 48, 72, 96, and 144 h after infection (black bars). Insects fed on blood were used as control (dark gray bars). The relative defensin gene expression was normalized against the housekeeping internal control gene 60S-rRNA. Bar charts represent mean ± SEM of 3 pools of 3 insects. Asterisks represent statistical significance at P < 0.05.