Assessing Diversity, Plasmodium Infection and Blood Meal Sources in Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from a Brazilian Zoological Park with Avian Malaria Transmission

Abstract

Avian malaria parasites are widespread parasites transmitted by Culicidae insects belonging to different genera. Even though several studies have been conducted recently, there is still a lack of information about potential vectors of Plasmodium parasites, especially in Neotropical regions. Former studies with free-living and captive animals in São Paulo Zoo showed the presence of several Plasmodium and Haemoproteus species. In 2015, a pilot study was conducted at the zoo to collect mosquitoes in order to find out (i) which species of Culicidae are present in the study area, (ii) what are their blood meal sources, and (iii) to which Plasmodium species might they be potential vectors. Mosquitoes were morphologically and molecularly identified. Blood meal source and haemosporidian DNA were identified using molecular protocols. A total of 25 Culicidae species were identified, and 6 of them were positive for Plasmodium/Haemoproteus DNA. Ten mosquito species had their source of blood meal identified, which were mainly birds, including some species that were positive for haemosporidian parasites in the former study mentioned. This study allowed us to expand the list of potential vectors of avian malaria parasites and to improve our knowledge of the evolutionary and ecological relationships between the highly diverse communities of birds, parasites, and vectors present at São Paulo Zoo.

Tracking arboviruses, their transmission vectors and potential hosts by nanopore sequencing of mosquitoes

“…To validate this protocol, collections of mosquitoes were performed at the same sites as in a previous study [ 37 ] and results were compared against previous findings. Across multiple collection sites over 2 days it was possible to capture over 30 mosquitoes that had recently fed in a number of locations within the zoo of the CFS, which is located in the Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (PEFI) in São Paulo, Brazil (Table S2).…”

“…This helps identify other animals more likely to be infected by particular viruses and mosquitoes. As expected, a general observation across all of the blood meals and mosquitoes sequenced is that species of the genus Culex feed predominantly on birds [37]. If pathogenic viruses identified in wild populations proximal to avian farms or factories infect the animals there in a more confined space, the economic and public health risks will be significant [3, 4].…”

DNA Barcoding of Morphologically Characterized Mosquitoes Belonging to the Genus Mansonia from the Atlantic Forest and Brazilian Savanna

“…pseudotitillans , and Ma. titillans [ 16 ]. To confirm the mosquito species infected with hemosporidian parasites, we conducted molecular identification using DNA barcoding.…”

“…To confirm the mosquito species infected with hemosporidian parasites, we conducted molecular identification using DNA barcoding. However, for mosquitoes of the Mansonia genus, species identification based on the best close match (BCM) approach was unsuccessful since queries in the GenBank database (hereafter GenBank) returned BCM values far below the threshold (90%) for a successful identification (>99%) [ 16 ]. A screening for COI sequences of Mansonia species in GenBank revealed sequences for Ma.…”

Mosquitos (Diptera, Culicidae) em área de transmissão de malária aviária: identificação de potenciais vetores de hemosporídeos do gênero Culex

“…parasitológica das aves infectadas que foram analisadas em um estudo anterior(Chagas et al, 2017) (c). FONTE:Guimarães et al, 2021. foi capturar fêmeas de mosquitos em repouso, concluindo as etapas da digestão sanguínea em seus abrigos pós-prandiais (Relazione, 1920) utilizou-se a técnica de aspiração com o Aspirador de Nasci em quatro pontos no período da manhã…”