Figure 4.

Antibacterial activity in Rhodnius prolixus midgut fed with blood containing E. coli or S. aureus. Anterior midgut contents and posterior midgut collected 7 days after feeding were tested against E. coli and S. aureus. A- Antibacterial activity of anterior midgut contents after feeding with E. coli, S. aureus or blood alone against E. coli. B- Antibacterial activity of anterior midgut contents after feeding with E. coli, S. aureus or blood alone against S. aureus. C- Antibacterial activity of posterior midgut after feeding with E. coli, S. aureus or blood alone against E. coli. D- Antibacterial activity of posterior midgut after feeding with E. coli, S. aureus or blood alone against S. aureus. Black column - antibacterial activity of control insects fed on blood alone; grid column - antibacterial activity of insects fed with blood containing E. coli; striped column - antibacterial activity of insects fed with blood containing S. aureus. Antibacterial activity measured by turbidometric assay (TB) (OD₅₅₀ nm) after 19 h incubation of midgut samples with different bacteria. Values represent the means ± SE of three replicates. Asterisks relates to significant differences (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001) in comparison to control obtained after data analyses using one way ANOVA and Mann Whitney tests.