Life Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Gut Immune Response Of Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides Felis), Clark Hall

Honors College Theses

Fleas transmit numerous deadly and debilitating diseases, including the causative agents of murine typhus and plague. Because initial entry of these infectious agents occurs while blood feeding, the immune response in the flea gut is considered to be the first line of defense against invading microbes. However, relatively few studies have identified the flea immune molecules that effectively resist or limit infection in the gut. In other hematophagous insects, an immediate immune response to imbibed pathogens is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we utilized cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) to investigate whether natural infections …