Institute for Diagnosis and Animal Health, Bucharest, Romania.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, Romania.
Parasit Vectors. 2020 Aug 3;13(1):393. doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04247-3.
Culicoides biting midges are vectors involved in the biological transmission cycle of important animal diseases such as bluetongue and African horse sickness. In Romania, the first outbreaks of bluetongue were reported in 2014, leading to increased activities within the existing entomological surveillance network. The main goals of the surveillance activities were the establishment of the vector free period in relation to animal trade and the identification of Culicoides species involved in the transmission of the pathogen. This study was conducted on the composition and relative abundance of the species belonging to the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in certain regions of Romania and provided the opportunity to update the existing checklist of Culicoides species of this country.
The study was conducted in 33 of the 42 administrative units (counties), including a total of 659 catches, in 102 locations. The collections were carried out with UV blacklight suction traps (OVI type). The collected insects were preserved in 70% ethanol. Morphological insect identification was carried out using a stereomicroscope, according to established identification keys. In ten localities the relative abundance of the cryptic species of the Obsoletus complex was determined by multiplex PCR assay based on the ITS2 segment. The identification of the Culicoides chiopterus (Meigen) species by morphological examination was confirmed by PCR assay based on the ITS1 segment.
Eleven species were identified using morphological and PCR tools. The rest of the individuals were separated into five taxa. The species of the Obsoletus complex (grouping Culicoides obsoletus (Meigen) and Culicoides scoticus Downes & Kettle) were the most abundant, accounting for 59% of the total number of captured Culicoides spp. Three of the identified species are mentioned, according to our knowledge, for the first time in Romania: Culicoides newsteadi Austen, Culicoides flavipulicaris Dzhafarov and Culicoides bysta Sarvašová, Kočisová, Candolfi & Mathieu.
Our study demonstrates that the Culicoides species most commonly cited as being involved in the transmission of arboviruses in Europe (i.e. bluetongue and Schmallenberg viruses) make up a high proportion of adult Culicoides trapped in Romania.
致倦库蚊是参与蓝舌病和非洲马瘟等重要动物疾病生物传播循环的媒介。在罗马尼亚，2014 年首次报告了蓝舌病疫情，这导致了现有昆虫学监测网络内的活动增加。监测活动的主要目标是建立与动物贸易有关的媒介无病期，并确定参与病原体传播的致倦库蚊种类。本研究对罗马尼亚某些地区致倦库蚊属（双翅目：蠓科）的种类组成和相对丰度进行了研究，并提供了更新该国致倦库蚊种现有清单的机会。
本研究在罗马尼亚的 42 个行政单位（县）中的 33 个县进行，共进行了 659 次捕获，在 102 个地点进行。使用紫外线黑光灯（OVI 型）采集昆虫。收集的昆虫用 70%乙醇保存。使用体视显微镜根据既定的鉴定钥匙对昆虫进行形态学鉴定。在 10 个地点，通过基于 ITS2 片段的多重 PCR 分析确定了 Obsoletus 复合体的隐种的相对丰度。通过基于 ITS1 片段的 PCR 分析对形态学检查鉴定的切翅库蚊（Meigen）种进行了确认。
利用形态学和 PCR 工具鉴定了 11 个种。其余个体分为五个类群。Obsoletus 复合体（包括致倦库蚊（Meigen）和苏格兰库蚊（Downes & Kettle））的种类最为丰富，占捕获的致倦库蚊属（Culicoides）总数的 59%。根据我们的知识，有 3 个鉴定的种在罗马尼亚是首次报道：新库蚊（Culicoides newsteadi Austen）、黄足库蚊（Culicoides flavipulicaris Dzhafarov）和比斯塔库蚊（Culicoides bysta Sarvašová，Kočisová，Candolfi & Mathieu）。
本研究表明，在欧洲常被认为与虫媒病毒（如蓝舌病和 Schmallenberg 病毒）传播有关的致倦库蚊种类在罗马尼亚捕获的成蚊中占很大比例。
