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Leishmania  parasites, causative agents of leishmaniasis, are currently divided into four subgenera:  Leishmania ,  Viannia ,  Sauroleishmania  and  Mundinia . The recently established subgenus  Mundinia  has a wide geographical distribution and contains five species, three of which have the potential to infect and cause disease in humans. While the other  Leishmania  subgenera are transmitted exclusively by phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae), natural vectors of  Mundinia  remain uncertain. This study investigates the potential of sand flies and biting midges of the genus  Culicoides  (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to transmit  Leishmania  parasites of the subgenus  Mundinia . Sand flies ( Phlebotomus argentipes ,  P .  duboscqi  and  Lutzomyia migonei ) and  Culicoides  biting midges ( Culicoides sonorensis ) were exposed to five  Mundinia  species through a chicken skin membrane and dissected at specific time intervals post bloodmeal. Potentially infected insects were also allowed to feed on ear pinnae of anaesthetized BALB/c mice and the presence of  Leishmania  DNA was subsequently confirmed in the mice using polymerase chain reaction analyses. In  C .  sonorensis , all  Mundinia  species tested were able to establish infection at a high rate, successfully colonize the stomodeal valve and produce a higher proportion of metacyclic forms than in sand flies. Subsequently, three parasite species,  L .  martiniquensis ,  L .  orientalis  and  L . sp. from Ghana, were transmitted to the host mouse ear by  C .  sonorensis  bite. In contrast, transmission experiments entirely failed with  P .  argentipes , although colonisation of the stomodeal valve was observed for  L .  orientalis  and  L .  martiniquensis  and metacyclic forms of  L .  orientalis  were recorded. This laboratory-based transmission of  Mundinia  species highlights that  Culicoides  are potential vectors of members of this ancestral subgenus of  Leishmania  and we suggest further studies in endemic areas to confirm their role in the lifecycles of neglected pathogens.

Experimental transmission of Leishmania (Mundinia) parasites by biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)