Association Between Infection and Susceptibility to Deltamethrin Insecticide in (Diptera: Psychodidae), the Main Vector of Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

(Diptera: Psychodidae) is the main vector of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis. is a symbiotic alphaproteobacteria of arthropods that can be involved in susceptibility or resistance. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between and Deltamethrin susceptibility/resistance in . Deltamethrin filter papers (0.00002%) were used to test sand fly field collected from southern Iran. After the test, PCR amplification of the surface protein gene (wsp) was used to measure infection rate in the killed, surviving, and control groups. The rates of infection by strain (wPap, super group A) differed between killed (susceptible) and surviving (resistant) specimens. The rate of infection in susceptible individuals was more than twice (2.3) (39% vs. 17%) in resistant individuals with the same genetic background. This difference was highly significant ( < 0.001), indicating a positive association between infection and susceptibility to Deltamethrin. In addition, the results showed that Deltamethrin can act as a PCR inhibitor during detection of in . Results of this study show that is associated with Deltamethrin susceptibility level in . Also, as Deltamethrin has been identified as a PCR inhibitor, great care must be taken in interpreting infection status in infected populations. The results of this study may provide information for a better understanding of the host-symbiont relationship, as well as application of host symbiosis in pest management.