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First molecular identification of the vertebrate hosts of Culicoides imicola in E urope and a review of its blood‐feeding patterns worldwide: implications for the transmission of bluetongue disease and A frican horse sickness
Author(s) -
MARTÍNEZDE LA PUENTE J.,
NAVARRO J.,
FERRAGUTI M.,
SORIGUER R.,
FIGUEROLA J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/mve.12247
Subject(s) - ceratopogonidae , culicoides , biology , african horse sickness , vector (molecular biology) , livestock , transmission (telecommunications) , zoology , veterinary medicine , outbreak , ecology , virology , genetics , medicine , engineering , gene , electrical engineering , recombinant dna
Culicoides ( D iptera: C eratopogonidae) are vectors of pathogens that affect wildlife, livestock and, occasionally, humans. Culicoides imicola ( K ieffer, 1913) is considered to be the main vector of the pathogens that cause bluetongue disease ( BT ) and A frican h orse s ickness ( AHS ) in southern E urope. The study of blood‐feeding patterns in Culicoides is an essential step towards understanding the epidemiology of these pathogens. Molecular tools that increase the accuracy and sensitivity of traditional methods have been developed to identify the hosts of potential insect vectors. However, to the present group's knowledge, molecular studies that identify the hosts of C. imicola in E urope are lacking. The present study genetically characterizes the barcoding region of C. imicola trapped on farms in southern S pain and identifies its vertebrate hosts in the area. The report also reviews available information on the blood‐feeding patterns of C. imicola worldwide. Culicoides imicola from S pain feed on blood of six mammals that include species known to be hosts of the BT and AHS viruses. This study provides evidence of the importance of livestock as sources of bloodmeals for C. imicola and the relevance of this species in the transmission of BT and AHS viruses in E urope.