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Microarchitecture of the tsetse fly proboscis

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, September 2017
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Among the highest-scoring outputs from this source (#36 of 5,712)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (96th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (99th percentile)

Mentioned by

news
8 news outlets
blogs
1 blog
twitter
32 X users
facebook
1 Facebook page
wikipedia
1 Wikipedia page

Citations

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11 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
53 Mendeley
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Title
Microarchitecture of the tsetse fly proboscis
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, September 2017
DOI 10.1186/s13071-017-2367-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Wendy Gibson, Lori Peacock, Rachel Hutchinson

Abstract

Tsetse flies (genus Glossina) are large blood-sucking dipteran flies that are important as vectors of human and animal trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. Tsetse anatomy has been well described, including detailed accounts of the functional anatomy of the proboscis for piercing host skin and sucking up blood. The proboscis also serves as the developmental site for the infective metacyclic stages of several species of pathogenic livestock trypanosomes that are inoculated into the host with fly saliva. To understand the physical environment in which these trypanosomes develop, we have re-examined the microarchitecture of the tsetse proboscis. We examined proboscises from male and female flies of Glossina pallidipes using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Each proboscis was removed from the fly head and either examined intact or dissected into the three constituent components: Labrum, labium and hypopharynx. Our light and SEM images reaffirm earlier observations that the tsetse proboscis is a formidably armed weapon, well-adapted for piercing skin, and provide comparative data for G. pallidipes. In addition, the images reveal that the hypopharynx, the narrow tube that delivers saliva to the wound site, ends in a remarkably ornate and complex structure with around ten finger-like projections, each adorned with sucker-like protrusions, contradicting previous descriptions that show a simple, bevelled end like a hypodermic needle. The function of the finger-like projections is speculative; they appear to be flexible and may serve to protect the hypopharynx from influx of blood or microorganisms, or control the flow of saliva. Proboscises were examined after colonisation by Trypanosoma congolense savannah. Consistent with the idea that colonisation commences in the region nearest the foregut, the highest densities of trypanosomes were found in the region of the labrum proximal to the bulb, although high densities were also found in other regions of the labrum. Trypanosomes were visible through the thin wall of the hypopharynx by both light microscopy and SEM. We highlight the remarkable architecture of the tsetse proboscis, in particular the intricate structure of the distal end of the hypopharynx. Further work is needed to elucidate the function of this intriguing structure.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 32 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 53 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 53 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 11 21%
Unspecified 7 13%
Student > Bachelor 7 13%
Researcher 7 13%
Other 3 6%
Other 6 11%
Unknown 12 23%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 16 30%
Unspecified 7 13%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 4 8%
Immunology and Microbiology 3 6%
Mathematics 2 4%
Other 8 15%
Unknown 13 25%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 88. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 August 2022.
All research outputs
#452,849
of 24,247,965 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#36
of 5,712 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#9,916
of 321,692 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#2
of 125 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,247,965 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 98th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,712 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.9. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 321,692 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 125 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.