Dataset Information

New species records of Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for the state of Rondonia in Brazilian Amazon.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Culicoides biting midges are small insects that are proven vectors of pathogens that cause disease in animals and humans. There are 1,368 species of Culicoides in the world, including 149 species in Brazil and 122 species in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. This study documents specimens that were collected between 2013 and 2015 in the municipalities of Alvorada d'Oeste, Buritis, Cacoal, Costa Marques, Espigão d'Oeste, Guajará-Mirim, Pimenta Bueno, Porto Velho and São Francisco Guaporé. Collections were performed using HP light traps in forest, pasture and peridomicilie environments.

New information

Species newly recorded in Rondônia State include Culicoides carpenteri Wirth & Blanton, 1953; C. dasyophrus Macfie, 1940; C. eublepharus Macfie, 1948; C. galindoi Wirth & Blanton, 1953; C. heliconiae Fox & Hoffman, 1944; and C. ignacioi Forattini, 1957. This is the first record in Brazil of C. darlingtonae Wirth & Blanton, 1971.

SUBMITTER: Carvalho LPC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5515067 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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New species records of <i>Culicoides</i> biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for the state of Rondônia in Brazilian Amazon.

Carvalho Luis Paulo Costa LPC Farias Emanuelle de Sousa ES Gil Luiz Herman Soares LHS Pessoa Felipe Arley Costa FAC Medeiros Jansen Fernandes JF

Biodiversity data journal 20170509 5

<h4>Background</h4><i>Culicoides</i> biting midges are small insects that are proven vectors of pathogens that cause disease in animals and humans. There are 1,368 species of <i>Culicoides</i> in the world, including 149 species in Brazil and 122 species in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. This study documents specimens that were collected between 2013 and 2015 in the municipalities of Alvorada d'Oeste, Buritis, Cacoal, Costa Marques, Espigão d'Oeste, Guajará-Mirim, Pimenta Bueno, Porto Velho and São ...[more]

PMID: 28765729

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Culicoides spp. biting midges transmit bluetongue virus (BTV), the aetiological agent of bluetongue (BT), an economically important disease of ruminants. In southern India, hyperendemic outbreaks of BT exert high cost to subsistence farmers in the region, impacting on sheep production. Effective Culicoides spp. monitoring methods coupled with accurate species identification can accelerate responses for minimising BT outbreaks. Here, we assessed the utility of sampling methods and DNA barcoding for detection and identification of Culicoides spp. in southern India, in order to provide an informed basis for future monitoring of their populations in the region. METHODS:Culicoides spp. collected from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were used to construct a framework for future morphological identification in surveillance, based on sequence comparison of the DNA barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene and achieving quality standards defined by the Barcode of Life initiative. Pairwise catches of Culicoides spp. were compared in diversity and abundance between green (570 nm) and ultraviolet (UV) (390 nm) light emitting diode (LED) suction traps at a single site in Chennai, Tamil Nadu over 20 nights of sampling in November 2013. RESULTS:DNA barcode sequences of Culicoides spp. were mostly congruent both with existing DNA barcode data from other countries and with morphological identification of major vector species. However, sequence differences symptomatic of cryptic species diversity were present in some groups which require further investigation. While the diversity of species collected by the UV LED Center for Disease Control (CDC) trap did not significantly vary from that collected by the green LED CDC trap, the UV CDC significantly outperformed the green LED CDC trap with regard to the number of Culicoides individuals collected. CONCLUSIONS:Morphological identification of the majority of potential vector species of Culicoides spp. samples within southern India appears relatively robust; however, potential cryptic species diversity was present in some groups requiring further investigation. The UV LED CDC trap is recommended for surveillance of Culicoides in southern India.

Project description:BackgroundInvestigations of Culicoides fauna, including inventories, were carried out in Morocco at different periods after the country had faced major bluetongue and African horse sickness outbreaks. However, no comprehensive reference publication has provided a clear overview of the Culicoides species diversity. This study reviewed available data on Culicoides biting midge species in Morocco from 1968 to 2015 (published and grey literature in French and English) in order to revise the current checklist, in light of state of the art taxonomic and systematic knowledge, and confirmed the checklist with morphological and molecular identifications of specimens collected from the region of Rabat.MethodsLiterature related to Culicoides collections in Morocco was collated. Authors were contacted to obtain raw data and additional information for the collections. Fresh Culicoides material was collected and examined from two sites around Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Each collected individual was examined and morphologically identified, if possible, to the species level. In addition, molecular identification was performed to separate closely related species, to confirm difficult morphological identifications and to confirm new species records.ResultsA total of 6121 individuals of Culicoides spp. were collected and analyzed and at least 17 species were identified: C. cataneii/C. gejgelensis, C. circumscriptus, C. fagineus, C. festivipennis, C. imicola, C. jumineri, C. kingi, C. longipennis, C. montanus, C. newsteadi, C. obsoletus, C. paolae, C. parotti, C. puncticollis, C. sahariensis, C. scoticus and C. subfagineus. Seven species were confirmed using phylogenetic analyses. Two new species records for Morocco are reported: C. paolae and C. subfagineus.ConclusionsThe Moroccan fauna of Culicoides now includes 54 valid species. Further work would certainly increase this total, as one of the clades we identified was not affiliated to any described and valid species.

Project description:IntroductionCulicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of arboviral pathogens that primarily affect livestock represented by Schmallenberg virus (SBV), epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and bluetongue virus (BTV). In Kenya, studies examining the bionomic features of Culicoides including species diversity, blood-feeding habits, and association with viruses are limited.MethodsAdult Culicoides were surveyed using CDC light traps in two semi-arid ecologies, Baringo and Kajiado counties, in Kenya. Blood-fed specimens were analysed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) barcoding region. Culicoides pools were screened for virus infection by generic RT-PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS).ResultsAnalysis of blood-fed specimens confirmed that midges had fed on cattle, goats, sheep, zebra, and birds. Cox1 barcoding of the sampled specimens revealed the presence of known vectors of BTV and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) including species in the Imicola group (Culicoides imicola) and Schultzei group (C. enderleni, C. kingi, and C. chultzei). Culicoides leucostictus and a cryptic species distantly related to the Imicola group were also identified. Screening of generated pools (11,006 individuals assigned to 333 pools) by generic RT-PCR revealed presence of seven phylogenetically distinct viruses grouping in the genera Goukovirus, Pacuvirus and Orthobunyavirus. The viruses showed an overall minimum infection rate (MIR) of 7.0% (66/333, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.5-8.9). In addition, full coding sequences of two new iflaviruses, tentatively named Oloisinyai_1 and Oloisinyai_2, were generated by next-generation sequencing (NGS) from individual homogenate of Culicoides pool.ConclusionThe results indicate a high genetic diversity of viruses in Kenyan biting midges. Further insights into host-vector-virus interactions as well as investigations on the potential clinical significance of the detected viruses are warranted.

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Project description:BackgroundWithin the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), the subgenus Avaritia is of particular interest as it contains a significant number of economically important vector species. Disagreements about the systematic classification of species within this subgenus have resulted in a taxonomic imbroglio.MethodsA molecular phylogeny of the subgenus Avaritia was conducted to test the existing systematic classification, which is based on phenetic assessment of morphological characters. Three nuclear ribosomal markers, internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS1, ITS2), 5.8S, and three mitochondrial markers, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and 2, and cytochrome b (cox1, cox2 and cytb), were obtained for 37 species of the subgenus Avaritia from all six biogeographical regions. Phylogenetic reconstructions using these genes independently and in combination were implemented using Bayesian inference analysis and maximum likelihood methods.ResultsPhylogenetic reconstructions gave strong support to several monophyletic groups within the subgenus Avaritia. Both C. actoni and C. pusillus formed a single clade with C. grahamii so their respective groups, the Actoni and Pusillus groups, have been merged with the Grahamii group. Some support was provided for the Boophagus and Jacobsoni groups. A group of species currently placed into the Orientalis group clustered in a clade with poor support. The Obsoletus group was defined as a sister clade to all other Avaritia groups. The clade including the Imicola group was well supported based on phylogenetic criteria.ConclusionsThis phylogenetic study combining five distinct molecular markers has provided meaningful insights into the systematic relationships of Culicoides (Avaritia) and highlighted future directions to continue the study of this subgenus. While the cox2 marker appeared to be useful to investigate closely related species, the 5.8S marker was highly conserved and uninformative. Further investigations including species absent from this work are needed to confirm the proposed systematic scheme. However, this systematic scheme can now serve as a foundation to investigate cryptic species affiliation within the subgenus. We advocate that future studies employ a combination of morphological and molecular analyses.