Arfuso Francesca, Gaglio Gabriella, Abbate Jessica Maria, Caracappa Giulia, Lupia Angelo, Napoli Ettore, Giarratana Filippo, Latrofa Maria Stefania, Giannetto Salvatore, Otranto Domenico, Brianti Emanuele
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, 98168, Messina, Italy.
Biologist Practitioner, Via A. Gramsci 15, 88050, Catanzaro, Italy.
Acta Trop. 2019 Jun;194:47-52. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.03.015. Epub 2019 Mar 11.
Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors for many pathogens responsible for human and animal diseases worldwide. Their identification at species level is of importance in epidemiological studies and control programmes. MALDI-TOF MS has been increasingly investigated as an alternative approach to the conventional identification of arthropods species. To establish an in-house protein spectra database for a quick and reliable species identification of phlebotomine sand flies, 166 field-caught sand fly specimens, morphologically identified as Phlebotomus perniciosus (no = 56; 26 males and 30 females), Phlebotomus neglectus (no = 4 males), Phlebotomus sergenti (no = 6; 4 males and 2 females) and Sergentomyia minuta (no = 100; 45 males and 55 females), were subjected to MALDI-TOF MS analyses. Out of 166, 149 specimens (89.8%) produced consistent species-specific protein spectra. Good quality database for P. perniciosus and S. minuta were generated; no databases have yet constructed for P. neglectus and P. sergenti due to the low number of specimens examined. The identification of 80 sand flies (no = 20 P. perniciosus; no = 60 S. minuta) were confirmed using the new generated SuperSpectra as validation test. The results reported support the use of MALDI-TOF MS for rapid, simple and reliable phlebotomine sand fly species identification suggesting its usefulness in accurate survey studies, ultimately improving biological and epidemiological knowledge on these important vectors of pathogens.
白蛉是全球许多导致人类和动物疾病的病原体的传播媒介。在物种水平上对它们进行鉴定在流行病学研究和控制计划中具有重要意义。基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱（MALDI-TOF MS）作为一种替代传统节肢动物物种鉴定的方法，受到了越来越多的研究。为了建立一个内部蛋白质谱数据库，以便快速、可靠地鉴定白蛉物种，对166只野外捕获的白蛉标本进行了MALDI-TOF MS分析，这些标本在形态上被鉴定为嗜人按蚊（n = 56；26只雄性和30只雌性）、疏忽按蚊（n = 4只雄性）、塞氏按蚊（n = 6；4只雄性和2只雌性）和微小白蛉（n = 100；45只雄性和55只雌性）。在166个标本中，149个（89.8%）产生了一致的物种特异性蛋白质谱。生成了嗜人按蚊和微小白蛉的高质量数据库；由于检查的标本数量较少，尚未构建疏忽按蚊和塞氏按蚊的数据库。使用新生成的超级谱作为验证测试，对80只白蛉（20只嗜人按蚊；60只微小白蛉）的鉴定进行了确认。报告的结果支持使用MALDI-TOF MS快速、简单且可靠地鉴定白蛉物种，表明其在准确的调查研究中有用，最终提高对这些重要病原体传播媒介的生物学和流行病学认识。
