Laboratory of Entomology, Institute of Zoology, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
Department of Biology, Ecology Section, Faculty of Science, VERG Laboratories, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Parasit Vectors. 2021 Jul 21;14(1):371. doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-04858-4.
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodiae) in the Republic of Moldova have been understudied for decades. Our study provides a first update on their occurrence, species composition and bloodmeal sources after 50 years.
During 5 seasons (2013-2017), 58 localities from 20 regions were surveyed for presence of sand flies using CDC light traps and manual aspirators. Species identification was done by a combination of morphological and molecular approaches (DNA barcoding, MALDI-TOF MS protein profiling). In engorged females, host blood was identified by three molecular techniques (RFLP, cytb sequencing and MALDI-TOF peptide mass mapping). Population structure of most abundant species was studied by cox1 haplotyping; phylogenetic analyses of ITS2 and cox1 genetic markers were used to resolve relationships of other detected species.
In total, 793 sand flies were collected at 30 (51.7%) localities from 12 regions of Moldova. Three species were identified by an integrative morphological and molecular approach: Phlebotomus papatasi, P. perfiliewi and Phlebotomus sp. (Adlerius), the first being the most abundant and widespread, markedly anthropophilic based on bloodmeal analyses, occurring also indoors and showing low population structure with only five haplotypes of cox1 detected. Distinct morphological and molecular characters of Phlebotomus sp. (Adlerius) specimens suggest the presence of a yet undescribed species.
Our study revealed the presence of stable sand fly populations of three species in Moldova that represent a biting nuisance as well as a potential threat of pathogen transmission and shall be further studied.
摩尔多瓦共和国的嗜人血沙蝇（双翅目：蚤蝇科）已有数十年未被研究。我们的研究首次提供了 50 年来它们的发生、物种组成和血食来源的最新信息。
在 5 个季节（2013-2017 年）期间，使用 CDC 诱捕器和手动吸蚊器在 20 个地区的 58 个地点调查沙蝇的存在情况。通过形态学和分子方法（DNA 条形码、MALDI-TOF MS 蛋白谱）相结合的方法进行物种鉴定。在饱血的雌性中，通过三种分子技术（RFLP、cytb 测序和 MALDI-TOF 肽质量图谱）鉴定宿主血液。最丰富物种的种群结构通过 cox1 单倍型研究进行研究；使用 ITS2 和 cox1 遗传标记的系统发育分析用于解决其他检测到的物种的关系。
总共在摩尔多瓦的 12 个地区的 30 个（51.7%）地点收集了 793 只沙蝇。通过综合形态学和分子方法鉴定了三种物种：P. papatasi、P. perfiliewi 和 Phlebotomus sp.（Adlerius），第一种是最丰富和分布最广的物种，根据血食分析表明其明显具有嗜人血性，也发生在室内，种群结构较低，仅检测到 cox1 的五个单倍型。Phlebotomus sp.（Adlerius）标本的独特形态和分子特征表明存在尚未描述的物种。
我们的研究表明，摩尔多瓦存在三种稳定的沙蝇种群，它们不仅是叮咬的滋扰，还可能传播病原体，应进一步研究。
