Abstract
Bloodmeal digestion in midguts of the sandflies Phlebotomus papatasi and Phlebotomus langeroni (Diptera: Psychodidae) was investigated in optimized assays to detect general protease, trypsin and aminopeptidase activities using synthetic substrates. Optimal activity occurred at pH 8‐9 for all enzymes examined in both species. Protease activity peaked at 24‐34h post human bloodmeal in midguts of P.papatasi and 34‐48h in P'.langeroni; all endo‐ and exoprotease activities were completed by 50 h in P.papatasi compared to 72 h in P. langeroni. Hydrolysis of two chymotrypsin substrates was P.langeroni was the high level of aminopeptidase recorded within 10h of the bloodmeal.

This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit: