Dataset Information

A spatial simulation model for the dispersal of the bluetongue vector Culicoides brevitarsis in Australia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The spread of Bluetongue virus (BTV) among ruminants is caused by movement of infected host animals or by movement of infected Culicoides midges, the vector of BTV. Biologically plausible models of Culicoides dispersal are necessary for predicting the spread of BTV and are important for planning control and eradication strategies.

Methods

A spatially-explicit simulation model which captures the two underlying population mechanisms, population dynamics and movement, was developed using extensive data from a trapping program for C. brevitarsis on the east coast of Australia. A realistic midge flight sub-model was developed and the annual incursion and population establishment of C. brevitarsis was simulated. Data from the literature was used to parameterise the model.

Results

The model was shown to reproduce the spread of C. brevitarsis southwards along the east Australian coastline in spring, from an endemic population to the north. Such incursions were shown to be reliant on wind-dispersal; Culicoides midge active flight on its own was not capable of achieving known rates of southern spread, nor was re-emergence of southern populations due to overwintering larvae. Data from midge trapping programmes were used to qualitatively validate the resulting simulation model.

Conclusions

The model described in this paper is intended to form the vector component of an extended model that will also include BTV transmission. A model of midge movement and population dynamics has been developed in sufficient detail such that the extended model may be used to evaluate the timing and extent of BTV outbreaks. This extended model could then be used as a platform for addressing the effectiveness of spatially targeted vaccination strategies or animal movement bans as BTV spread mitigation measures, or the impact of climate change on the risk and extent of outbreaks. These questions involving incursive Culicoides spread cannot be simply addressed with non-spatial models.

SUBMITTER: Kelso JK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4126746 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

A spatial simulation model for the dispersal of the bluetongue vector Culicoides brevitarsis in Australia.

Kelso Joel K JK Milne George J GJ

PloS one 20140808 8

<h4>Background</h4>The spread of Bluetongue virus (BTV) among ruminants is caused by movement of infected host animals or by movement of infected Culicoides midges, the vector of BTV. Biologically plausible models of Culicoides dispersal are necessary for predicting the spread of BTV and are important for planning control and eradication strategies.<h4>Methods</h4>A spatially-explicit simulation model which captures the two underlying population mechanisms, population dynamics and movement, was ...[more]

PMID: 25105418

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Project description:Bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) are related orbiviruses, transmitted between their ruminant hosts primarily by certain haematophagous midge vectors (Culicoides spp.). The larger of the BTV outer-capsid proteins, 'VP2', can be cleaved by proteases (including trypsin or chymotrypsin), forming infectious subviral particles (ISVP) which have enhanced infectivity for adult Culicoides, or KC cells (a cell-line derived from C. sonorensis). We demonstrate that VP2 present on purified virus particles from 3 different BTV strains can also be cleaved by treatment with saliva from adult Culicoides. The saliva proteins from C. sonorensis (a competent BTV vector), cleaved BTV-VP2 more efficiently than those from C. nubeculosus (a less competent/non-vector species). Electrophoresis and mass spectrometry identified a trypsin-like protease in C. sonorensis saliva, which was significantly reduced or absent from C. nubeculosus saliva. Incubating purified BTV-1 with C. sonorensis saliva proteins also increased their infectivity for KC cells ∼10 fold, while infectivity for BHK cells was reduced by 2-6 fold. Treatment of an 'eastern' strain of EHDV-2 with saliva proteins of either C. sonorensis or C. nubeculosus cleaved VP2, but a 'western' strain of EHDV-2 remained unmodified. These results indicate that temperature, strain of virus and protein composition of Culicoides saliva (particularly its protease content which is dependent upon vector species), can all play a significant role in the efficiency of VP2 cleavage, influencing virus infectivity. Saliva of several other arthropod species has previously been shown to increase transmission, infectivity and virulence of certain arboviruses, by modulating and/or suppressing the mammalian immune response. The findings presented here, however, demonstrate a novel mechanism by which proteases in Culicoides saliva can also directly modify the orbivirus particle structure, leading to increased infectivity specifically for Culicoides cells and, in turn, efficiency of transmission to the insect vector.

Project description:BackgroundBluetongue disease, caused by bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8), appeared for the first time in the northern part of Europe in 2006, and subsequently rapidly spread causing severe economic losses to the farming industry. The implicated vectors of BTV in Europe are Culicoides species within the subgenus Avaritia (C. chiopterus, C. dewulfi, C. obsoletus and C. scoticus). Epidemiological data from Switzerland have shown that BTV, whose spread was eliminated at an early stage by vaccination campaigns, had not been circulating among livestock at higher altitudes where other species dominate the Culicoides fauna. In this study, we investigated the extent that Culicoides spp. prevailing at higher altitudes (mainly C. grisescens) can act as vectors for BTV.MethodsCulicoides were collected at farms in the pre-alpine region (two sites at 1550 m above sea level, masl, referred to as pre-alpine I; one site at 2030 masl, pre-alpine II) and, for comparative purposes, from the Swiss Plateau (one site, 650 masl). They were fed on bovine blood/BTV suspensions (BTV-1, 4 or 8) and incubated for eight days under a fluctuating temperature regime (13-25 °C, mean 19 °C), reflecting a mid-summer warm spell in the pre-alpine region. Susceptibility to BTV transmission was assessed from head homogenates by RT-qPCR and virus isolation.ResultsOverall, 9196 female Culicoides were exposed to the three BTV strains through an artificial membrane, with feeding rates of 14-27%. Survival rates of blood-engorged Culicoides females at eight days post-infection depended on both virus serotype and altitude of origin. Virus dissemination (Cq ≤ the cut-off value as determined by serial virus dilutions) was confirmed only for BTV-1 in C. scoticus (dissemination efficiency 22.5%; 9/40) and C. obsoletus (5.6%; 1/18) from the Swiss Plateau area. There was no strong evidence of susceptibility to infection for Culicoides from the pre-alpine area when fed with all BTV strains (BTV-1, 4 and 8).ConclusionsThis study confirms the susceptibility of C. scoticus and C. obsoletus to BTV-1 infection, including under cooler temperatures. Culicoides grisescens, which is highly abundant at higher altitudes, cannot be considered a potential vector under these temperature conditions.

Project description:BackgroundThe new genomic technologies have provided novel insights into the genetics of interactions between vectors, viruses and hosts, which are leading to advances in the control of arboviruses of medical importance. However, the development of tools and resources available for vectors of non-zoonotic arboviruses remains neglected. Biting midges of the genus Culicoides transmit some of the most important arboviruses of wildlife and livestock worldwide, with a global impact on economic productivity, health and welfare. The absence of a suitable reference genome has hindered genomic analyses to date in this important genus of vectors. In the present study, the genome of Culicoides sonorensis, a vector of bluetongue virus (BTV) in the USA, has been sequenced to provide the first reference genome for these vectors. In this study, we also report the use of the reference genome to perform initial transcriptomic analyses of vector competence for BTV.ResultsOur analyses reveal that the genome is 189 Mb, assembled in 7974 scaffolds. Its annotation using the transcriptomic data generated in this study and in a previous study has identified 15,612 genes. Gene expression analyses of C. sonorensis females infected with BTV performed in this study revealed 165 genes that were differentially expressed between vector competent and refractory females. Two candidate genes, glutathione S-transferase (gst) and the antiviral helicase ski2, previously recognized as involved in vector competence for BTV in C. sonorensis (gst) and repressing dsRNA virus propagation (ski2), were confirmed in this study.ConclusionsThe reference genome of C. sonorensis has enabled preliminary analyses of the gene expression profiles of vector competent and refractory individuals. The genome and transcriptomes generated in this study provide suitable tools for future research on arbovirus transmission. These provide a valuable resource for these vector lineage, which diverged from other major Dipteran vector families over 200 million years ago. The genome will be a valuable source of comparative data for other important Dipteran vector families including mosquitoes (Culicidae) and sandflies (Psychodidae), and together with the transcriptomic data can yield potential targets for transgenic modification in vector control and functional studies.

Dataset Information

A spatial simulation model for the dispersal of the bluetongue vector Culicoides brevitarsis in Australia.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

A spatial simulation model for the dispersal of the bluetongue vector Culicoides brevitarsis in Australia.

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