Influence of Sitophilus oryzae on biological properties of Mycobacterium bovis

Abstract

The active spread of tuberculosis around the world has been an urgent issue for many decades, but even now, there is no data on all available methods of introducing the pathogen into a previously healthy territory and the mechanisms of mycobacteria activity, and this makes it impossible to eradicate the disease completely. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the rice weevil (lat. Sitophilus oryzae) on the dissociative forms of mycobacterium tuberculosis, their viability, biochemical properties and virulence through passage of the pathogen through the insect’s body. To fulfil this purpose, the following methods were used: biological (experimental infection of laboratory animals), anatomical pathology and determining the viability of mycobacteria by counting colony-forming units. The effect on pathogenic properties of dissociative forms of Mycobacterium bovis (passage 118) after passage through the body of the rice weevil in an experiment on guinea pigs was determined and summarized. The change in the viability of mycobacteria isolated in the dynamics of the experiment in comparison with the original culture was described. The plasticity of the biochemical activity of the pathogen after passing through the body of the beetle was proven, and the influence of the macroorganism on the enzymatic properties of mycobacterium tuberculosis was analysed. The phenomena of the activation of enzymatic systems, which are associated with the adaptation and survival of mycobacteria in the conditions of a changed habitat, were substantiated. The practical value of this study lies in the improved understanding of the processes of the spread of mycobacterium tuberculosis and the established role of insects in the transmission of infection, with the prospect of developing measures to prevent and combat the disease