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Contribution to the knowledge of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) host preferences in France

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Abstract

Knowledge on host-feeding pattern of blood-sucking insects helps to understand the epidemiology of a vector-born disease. We determined blood meal origin from blood-fed Culicoides thanks to molecular techniques. A set of primers was used to selectively amplify segment of vertebrates' prepronociceptin gene from abdomen of engorged Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Vertebrate DNA was successfully amplified in 91% of blood-fed Culicoides assayed. Direct sequencing and comparison of resultant sequences with sequences in GenBank, using BLAST, lead to the specific identification of the host in 100% of the cases. A total of 157 blood-fed females belonging to 13 different Culicoides' species were captured thanks to light traps in different areas of France between 2008 and 2009. Blood meal origin was determined for 143 blood-fed midges: 59 Culicoides obsoletus, 18 Culicoides dewulfi, 16 Culicoides scoticus, 11 Culicoides chiopterus, 10 Culicoides lupicaris, 1 Culicoides pulicaris, 8 Culicoides punctatus, 10 Culicoides pallidicornis, 3 Culicoides achrayi, 2 Culicoides furcillatus, 3 Culicoides brunnicans, 1 Culicoides picturatus and 1 Culicoides poperinghensis. The predominant species in our study belong to the C. obsoletus complex; they are considered as putative vectors of Bluetongue virus in the north of Europe. C. chiopterus sampled fed only on cattle, while blood meal origin of C. dewulfi, C. obsoletus and C. scoticus was diversified. In our sampling, we found that midges were fed mainly on cattle (54%), rabbits (20%), horses (17%), sheep (4%), pigs or wild boars (4%) and human (1%). Cattle DNA was found in at least 11 different species of Culicoides assayed.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to David Hollert, Nicolas Pokorski and Cyriaque Meunier who participate in the trapping session in their own holdings, and DVM Gérard Bosquet for his help. The authors would like to thank Eric Chailloux and Nicolas Brichot, members of the ONF (Office National des Forêts), for their help on choosing trapping sites in the forests of Ardennes, Hubert, Pierre, and Agathe Ferté for capturing Culicoides in the south of France and Emilie Simphal for capturing Culicoides in the Aisne area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Usc Vecpar-ANSES, JE 2533, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 51 rue Cognacq-Jay, 51096, Reims, France

    Camille Ninio, Denis Augot & Jerome Depaquit

  2. Faculté de Médecine, Institut de Parasitologie et de Pathologie Tropicale de Strasbourg (IPPTS), 3 rue Koeberlé, 67000, Strasbourg, France

    Jean-Claude Delecolle

  3. Unité de recherche EpiMAI, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, 7 av. du Général de Gaulle, 94700, Maisons-Alfort, France

    Barbara Dufour

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  1. Camille Ninio
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  2. Denis Augot
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  3. Jean-Claude Delecolle
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  4. Barbara Dufour
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  5. Jerome Depaquit
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Correspondence to Jerome Depaquit.

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Ninio, C., Augot, D., Delecolle, JC. et al. Contribution to the knowledge of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) host preferences in France. Parasitol Res 108, 657–663 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-010-2110-9

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