Complete sporogony of the blood parasite <i>Haemoproteus nucleocondensus</i> in common biting midges: why is its transmission interrupted in Europe?

Žiegytė, Rita; Platonova, Elena; Bernotienė, Rasa; Valkiūnas, Gediminas; Palinauskas, Vaidas

doi:10.1017/s0031182020000116

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(106 reference statements)

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“…However, June might be the month when biting midges have their first blood meal and are free of parasites. For instance, there are no records of H. nucleocondensus local transmission, a parasite of great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) in juvenile birds in northern Europe, although locally abundant Culicoides species could serve as vector candidates for H. nucleocondensus transmission [38,39]. The maximum hatching and fledging period of great read warblers occurs in June and vector abundance, according to our investigations, is high at that time [39].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 47%

Natural Vector of Avian Haemoproteus asymmetricus Parasite and Factors Altering the Spread of Infection

Žiegytė,

Palinauskas,

Bernotienė

2023

Insects

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Avian haemosporidians (Apicomplexa, Haemosporida) are widespread blood protists, often causing severe haemosporidiosis, pathology, or even mortality in their hosts. Migrant birds regularly bring various haemosporidian parasites from wintering grounds to European breeding areas. Some haemosporidian parasites are prevalent in breeding sites and complete their life cycles in temperate climate zones and can be transmitted, but others do not. The factors altering the spread of these haemosporidians are not fully understood. Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) play an important role in the transmission of worldwide distributed avian haemosporidian parasites belonging to the genus Haemoproteus, but this information is particularly scarce and insufficient. The key factors limiting the spread of these pathogens in temperate climate zones, which we suspect and aim to study, are the absence of susceptible vectors and the ecological isolation of birds from vectors during the breeding period when transmission occurs. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate how the habitats of biting midges and bird breeding sites influence parasite transmission while also seeking to expand our understanding of the natural vectors for these parasites. Biting midges were collected using UV traps on the Curonian Spit, Lithuania, in different habitats, such as woodland and reeds, from May to September. Parous Culicoides females were identified, dissected, and investigated for the presence of Haemoproteus parasites using both microscopy and PCR-based tools. Among the dissected 1135 parous Culicoides females, the sporozoites of Haemoproteus asymmetricus (genetic lineage hTUPHI01) have been detected for the first time in the salivary glands of Culicoides festivipennis. The sporozoites of four Haemoproteus lineages were detected in Culicoides segnis, C. festivipennis, and Culicoides kibunensis biting midges. PCR-based screening showed that the females of seven Culicoides species were naturally infected with Haemoproteus parasites. The DNA of the parasite of owls, Haemoproteus syrnii (hSTAL2), was detected for the first time in Culicoides punctatus. The highest abundance of collected Culicoides females was in June, but the highest prevalence of Haemoproteus parasites in biting midges was in July. The abundance of Culicoides was higher in the woodland compared with reeds during the season. The acquired findings indicate the varied abundance and diversity of biting midges throughout the season and across distinct habitats. This variability could potentially impact the transmission of Haemoproteus parasites among birds with diverse breeding site ecologies. These outcomes hold the potential to enhance our understanding of the epizootiology of Haemoproteus infections within temperate climatic zones.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 47%

Natural Vector of Avian Haemoproteus asymmetricus Parasite and Factors Altering the Spread of Infection

Žiegytė,

Palinauskas,

Bernotienė

2023

Insects

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“…In birds, louse flies are responsible for the transmission of parasites such as Haemoproteus spp. involved in bird mortality and morbidity [30]. Until this study, the only louse flies identified in Corsica were collected on bats and belonged to the family Nycteribiidae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Detection of Pathogens and Ticks on Sedentary and Migratory Birds in Two Corsican Wetlands (France, Mediterranean Area)

Defaye

Moutailler

Vollot³

et al. 2023

Microorganisms

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Birds are one of the most species-diverse vertebrate groups and are susceptible to numerous hematophagous ectoparasites. Migratory birds likely contribute to the circulation of these ectoparasites and their associated pathogens. One of the many migration paths crosses the Mediterranean islands including Corsica and its wetlands, which are migration stopovers. In our study, we collected blood samples and hematophagous ectoparasites in migratory and sedentary bird populations in two coastal lagoons: Biguglia and Gradugine. A total of 1377 birds were captured from which 762 blood samples, 37 louse flies, and 44 ticks were collected. All the louse flies were identified as Ornithomya biloba and all the ticks were from the Ixodes genus: Ixodes sp. (8.5%), I. accuminatus/ventalloi (2.9%), I. arboricola/lividus (14.3%), I. frontalis (5.7%) and I. ricinus (68.6%). Five pathogens were detected: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Erhlichia chaffeensis, and Rickettsia helvetica in ticks, and Trypanosoma sp. in louse flies. Ehrlichia chaffeensis and the West Nile virus were both detected in bird blood samples in Corsica. This is the first report of these tick, louse fly and pathogen species isolated on the bird population in Corsica. Our finding highlights the importance of bird populations in the presence of arthropod-borne pathogens in Corsican wetlands.

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“…Some of these Plasmodium parasites are highly virulent to European bird species [23][24][25][26]. The tropical haemosporidians are not transmitted in the temperate zone of Europe, although, the possibility to complete their development in local vectors (i.e., sporogonic development) or avian hosts has been demonstrated [24,[26][27][28][29]. Plasmodium relictum (pGRW4) infects more than 80 bird species and has transmission mostly in tropical regions and the Americas [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Temperature on the Sporogonic Development of the Tropical Avian Malaria Parasite Plasmodium relictum (Genetic Lineage pGRW4) in Culex pipiens Form molestus Mosquitoes

Platonova

Palinauskas

2021

Microorganisms

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The avian malaria parasite Plasmodium relictum (genetic lineage pGRW4) is known to cause severe pathology in nonadapted vertebrate hosts. This parasite is prevalent in some bird species in Northern Europe, however the records obtained are only from adult long-distance migrant birds after their return from the wintering grounds. A recent experimental study showed that this parasite completes sporogonic development in the local European vector Culex pipiens at a controlled mean temperature of 19 °C. Thereby, temperature limits for the transmission of this parasite in Northern Europe remain unknown. In this study, we took a step further and tested the impact of different temperature conditions, including some extreme fluctuations between 23 °C down to 7 °C, on the sporogonic development of P. relictum (pGRW4) in the vector Culex pipiens form molestus. Mosquitoes were exposed to infection and kept under different air-temperature conditions: (i) constant warm temperature, (ii) natural outdoor temperatures and (iii) temporary exposure to low temperatures. Plasmodium relictum (pGRW4) completed sporogony in mosquitoes of all experimental groups, however different patterns of the sporogonic development depending on temperature conditions were observed. Based on these results, we conclude that the cool air temperature of Northern Europe in summer is not a limiting factor in successful development of the parasite. However, delayed sporogony caused by low summer temperatures may have a detrimental impact on the active transmission of this parasite in Northern Europe.

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Complete sporogony of the blood parasite Haemoproteus nucleocondensus in common biting midges: why is its transmission interrupted in Europe?

Cited by 4 publications

References 52 publications

Natural Vector of Avian Haemoproteus asymmetricus Parasite and Factors Altering the Spread of Infection

Natural Vector of Avian Haemoproteus asymmetricus Parasite and Factors Altering the Spread of Infection

Detection of Pathogens and Ticks on Sedentary and Migratory Birds in Two Corsican Wetlands (France, Mediterranean Area)

The Impact of Temperature on the Sporogonic Development of the Tropical Avian Malaria Parasite Plasmodium relictum (Genetic Lineage pGRW4) in Culex pipiens Form molestus Mosquitoes

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