Fig. 4: KIAPs are essential for stomodeal valve colonisation in the sand fly.

a Z-stack confocal microscopy analysis of KIAP localisation in a dissected sand fly gut on day 7 post blood meal (PBM) using L. mexicana cells expressing mNG::KIAP3 and KIAP2::mCh. The confocal fluorescence images are shown as a maximum intensity projection of a series of confocal z-sections (8 × 2.13 µm z-step). The location of the stomodeal valve is indicated by SV. Representative images from n = 4 infected midguts. b Infection rates and intensities of infections of parental and KIAP1 (left), KIAP2 (middle) or KIAP3 (right) KO and AB L. mexicana cells on day 6 and 9 PBM. Numbers above the bars indicate the number of dissected female sand flies. Infection intensities were evaluated as light (<100 parasites/gut; grey), moderate (100–1000 parasites/gut; pink) and heavy (>1000 parasites/gut; red). The cumulative percentages obtained from two independent experiments are shown in the graphs. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. c Localisation of infections of parental and KIAP1 (left), KIAP2 (middle) or KIAP3 (right) KO and AB L. mexicana cells on day 6 and 9 PBM. Numbers above the bars indicate the number of evaluated (positive) female sand flies. The schematic diagram shows the name and location of each part of a sand fly gut. The cumulative percentages obtained from n = 2 independent experiments are shown in the graphs. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. d Bright field and fluorescence images of dissected sand fly guts on day 6 (left) or 9 (right) PBM where parental, or KIAP1, KIAP2 or KIAP3 KO and AB L. mexicana cells expressing SMP1::mCh were infected. Representative images of infected midguts of the n = 2 independent infections from (b, c). The sand fly cartoon in Fig. 4c was kindly provided by Dr Richard Wheeler (University of Oxford).