Blood meal analysis of Culicoides species associated with livestock in West Bengal, India

Abstract

Knowledge gaps exist on the feeding pattern and host range of bluetongue virus vectors, Culicoides species, associated with livestock in India. Adult midges were trapped with ultraviolet light traps at 13 household farms adjacent to human biotope. Host DNA was isolated from individual females (n = 101; blood engorged‐82, gravid‐4 and parous‐15) and subjected to PCR amplification targeting CytB and 16S rRNA gene fragments followed by sequencing of amplified DNA samples. However, DNA sequences from only 71 individuals (70.3%) comprising of 10 Culicoides species were obtained. Blood meal analysis revealed at least 10 species that fed on five mammalian hosts including humans, but surprisingly none tested positive for birds. Results revealed that Culicoides innoxius tested positive for four not previously recognized species indicating a potential role as a vector species. Likewise, Culicoides shortti and Culicoides hegneri preferred goat and cattle respectively as hosts, whereas Culicoides palpifer preferred cattle along with buffalo as hosts, which is being reported for the first time. This is the first document on DNA‐based blood meal identification and feeding preference of Culicoides midges associated with livestock in India.

Molecular identification of Culicoides oxystoma and Culicoides actoni vectors of bluetongue virus

“…The taxonomic status of the subgenus Remmia remains unresolved throughout Asia. The presence of C. oxystoma in India was documented by several authors (Archana et al, 2016;Chanda et al, 2019;Harrup et al, 2016;Harsha et al, 2020;Kar, Mondal, Ghosh, et al, 2022;Kar, Mondal, Pal, et al, 2022;Mondal et al, 2022) but others claimed the presence of Culicoides schultzei (Enderlein, 1908) from different states of India (Halder et al, 2013;Joardar, 2022;Narladkar et al, 1992Narladkar et al, , 1993Narladkar, Deshpande, Shivpuje, & Sondge, 2006;Narladkar & Shivpuje, 2014), even though it is considered as an Afrotropical species. Morag et al (2012) Identification of Culicoides midges involves taxonomic preparatory phases, that is, both wet and dry, which can be time-consuming and requires a thorough taxonomic knowledge of the group involved.…”

“…Genomic DNA was extracted from the abdomen of individual females (Kar, Mondal, Pal, et al, 2022) or whole specimens (non-destructive) following Kar, Mondal, Ghosh, et al (2022). In the destructive DNA extraction method, the abdomens of individual females were detached using a sterile needle (single use) and washed thoroughly in deionized water for the removal of remnant alcohol.…”

“…This species is thought to have the potential for the spread of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) along with Culicoides imicola Kieffer, 1913, principal vector of AHSV (Bakhoum et al, 2016; Dennis et al, 2019; Fall et al, 2015). Various studies reported C. oxystoma as one of the predominant species in Indian backyard farms (Harrup et al, 2016; Harsha et al, 2020; Kar, Mondal, Ghosh, et al, 2022; Kar, Mondal, Pal, et al, 2022; Mazumdar & Mazumdar, 2020) and to be abundant in BT‐infected areas (Chanda et al, 2019). Kar, Mondal, Ghosh, et al (2022) also reported large numbers of C. oxystoma attacking cattle and sheep in open pastures and it preferred cattle over sheep and goat.…”

“…The highest intraspecific sequence difference was reported for C. actoni from southern India (Harrup et al, 2016). Culicoides actoni was collected with light traps near livestock from different parts of India (Archana et al, 2016; Kar, Mondal, Pal, et al, 2022; Narladkar & Shivpuje, 2014) and recently Kar, Mondal, Ghosh, et al (2022) recorded a large number of C. actoni landing on cattle and sheep during a host preference study conducted in West Bengal, India.…”

In vitro biochemical characterization and identification of hemolytic bacteria associated with life history of Culicoides peregrinus (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a vector of bluetongue virus

“…Ranjan et al (2017) isolated BTV 23 from adults of C. peregrinus trapped from a small animal farm located in Tamil Nadu, India. Feeding preferences indicate that this midge species is zoophilic and in some cases they even bite humans (Wirth and Hubert 1989, Kar et al 2022). But the biology including breeding habitats of Culicoides vectors are not widely known (Werner et al 2020).…”