Topic
Louse
About: Louse is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1140 publications have been published within this topic receiving 21331 citations. The topic is also known as: Phthiraptera & lice.
Papers published on a yearly basis
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Papers
J. Craig Venter Institute1, Broad Institute2, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign3, Bangor University4, University of Reading5, University of Massachusetts Amherst6, Seoul National University7, University of Notre Dame8, University of Houston9, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics10, University of Geneva11, Georgetown University12, Texas A&M University13, Purdue University14, University of Bordeaux15, University of Santiago de Compostela16, National Institutes of Health17, University of Barcelona18, Wayne State University19, University of Florida20, Kansas State University21, Miami University22, Ohio State University23, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention24, Rio de Janeiro State University25, University of Queensland26, Imperial College London27
TL;DR: The genome sequences of the body louse and its primary bacterial endosymbiont Candidatus Riesia pediculicola are presented, providing a reference for studies of holometabolous insects.
Abstract: As an obligatory parasite of humans, the body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) is an important vector for human diseases, including epidemic typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever. Here, we present genome sequences of the body louse and its primary bacterial endosymbiont Candidatus Riesia pediculicola. The body louse has the smallest known insect genome, spanning 108 Mb. Despite its status as an obligate parasite, it retains a remarkably complete basal insect repertoire of 10,773 protein-coding genes and 57 microRNAs. Representing hemimetabolous insects, the genome of the body louse thus provides a reference for studies of holometabolous insects. Compared with other insect genomes, the body louse genome contains significantly fewer genes associated with environmental sensing and response, including odorant and gustatory receptors and detoxifying enzymes. The unique architecture of the 18 minicircular mitochondrial chromosomes of the body louse may be linked to the loss of the gene encoding the mitochondrial single-stranded DNA binding protein. The genome of the obligatory louse endosymbiont Candidatus Riesia pediculicola encodes less than 600 genes on a short, linear chromosome and a circular plasmid. The plasmid harbors a unique arrangement of genes required for the synthesis of pantothenate, an essential vitamin deficient in the louse diet. The human body louse, its primary endosymbiont, and the bacterial pathogens that it vectors all possess genomes reduced in size compared with their free-living close relatives. Thus, the body louse genome project offers unique information and tools to use in advancing understanding of coevolution among vectors, symbionts, and pathogens.
584 citations
TL;DR: The biology and ecology of various louse and host species influence their pathogenicity and epidemiology and this knowledge could be used to take measures to reduce the risks of lice affecting farmed and wild fish.
556 citations
Book•
1 Jan 1935
TL;DR: This book is devoted to a discussion of the biology of Typhus and history of typhus fever in human affairs, which combines Zinsser's expertise in biology with his broad knowledge of the humanities.
Abstract: When "Rats, Lice and History" appeared in 1935, Hans Zinsser was a highly regarded Harvard biologist who had never written about historical events. Although he had published under a pseudonym, virtually all of his previous writings had dealt with infections and immunity and had appeared either in medical and scientific journals or in book format. Today he is best remembered as the author of "Rats, Lice, and History", which gone through multiple editions and remains a masterpiece of science writing for a general readership. To Zinsser, scientific research was high adventure and the investigation of infectious disease, a field of battle. Yet at the same time he maintained a love of literature and philosophy. His goal in "Rats, Lice and History" was to bring science, philosophy, and literature together to establish the importance of disease, and especially epidemic infectious disease, as a major force in human affairs. Zinsser cast his work as the "biography" of a disease. In his view, infectious disease simply represented an attempt of a living organism to survive. From a human perspective, an invading pathogen was abnormal; from the perspective of the pathogen it was perfectly normal. This book is devoted to a discussion of the biology of typhus and history of typhus fever in human affairs. Zinsser begins by pointing out that the louse was the constant companion of human beings. Under certain conditions - failure to wash or to change clothing - lice proliferated. The typhus pathogen was transmitted by rat fleas to human beings, who then transmitted it to other humans and in some strains from human to human. "Rats, Lice and History" is a tour de force. It combines Zinsser's expertise in biology with his broad knowledge of the humanities.
316 citations
TL;DR: A molecular clock analysis indicates that body lice originated not more than about 72,000 +/- 42,000 years ago; the mtDNA sequences also indicate a demographic expansion of body louse that correlates with the spread of modern humans out of Africa.
269 citations
TL;DR: Visual examination, the only method not requiring that lice be removed from the host, was an accurate predictor of louse abundance, except in the case of wing lice on lightly parasitized birds.
Abstract: Five methods for estimating the abundance of chewing lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) were tested. To evaluate the methods, feral pigeons (Columba livia) and 2 species of ischnoceran lice were used. The fraction of lice removed by each method was compared, and least squares linear regression was used to determine how well each method predicted total abundance. Total abundance was assessed in most cases using KOH dissolution. The 2 methods involving dead birds (body washing and post- mortem-ruffling) provided better results than 3 methods involving live birds (dust-ruffling, fumigation chambers, and visual examination). Body washing removed the largest fraction of lice ( .82%) and was an extremely accurate predictor of total abundance (r 2 5 0.99). Post-mortem-ruffling was also an accurate predictor of total abundance ( r2 $ 0.88), even though it removed a smaller proportion of lice (,70%) than body washing. Dust-ruffling and fumigation chambers removed even fewer lice, but were still reasonably accurate predictors of total abundance, except in the case of data sets restricted to birds with relatively few lice. Visual examination, the only method not requiring that lice be removed from the host, was an accurate predictor of louse abundance, except in the case of wing lice on lightly parasitized birds.
253 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 27 |
| 2024 | 59 |
| 2023 | 62 |
| 2022 | 103 |
| 2021 | 56 |
| 2020 | 80 |