First report of 13 species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in mainland Portugal and Azores by morphological and molecular characterization.

David W Ramilo,José Meireles,Fernando Boinas,Rita Ribeiro,Jean-Claude Delécolle,Suraya Diaz,Anthony Wilson,Isabel Pereira Da Fonseca,Javier Lucientes

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034896

David W Ramilo, José Meireles + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034896

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Abstract

The genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) contains important vectors of animal and human diseases, including bluetongue, African horse sickness and filariosis. A major outbreak of bluetongue occurred in mainland Portugal in 2004, forty eight years after the last recorded case. A national Entomological Surveillance Plan was initiated in mainland Portugal, Azores and the Madeira archipelagos in 2005 in order to better understand the disease and facilitate policy decisions. During the survey, the most prevalent Culicoides species in mainland Portugal was C. imicola (75.3%) and species belonging to the Obsoletus group (6.5%). The latter were the most prevalent in Azores archipelago, accounting for 96.7% of the total species identified. The Obsoletus group was further characterized by multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction to species level showing that only two species of this group were present: C. obsoletus sensu strictu (69.6%) and C. scoticus (30.4%). Nine species of Culicoides were detected for the first time in mainland Portugal: C. alazanicus, C. bahrainensis, C. deltus, C. lupicaris, C. picturatus, C. santonicus, C. semimaculatus, C. simulator and C. subfagineus. In the Azores, C. newsteadi and C. circumscriptus were identified for the first time from some islands, and bluetongue vectors belonging to the Obsoletus group (C. obsoletus and C. scoticus) were found to be widespread.

Highlights

The genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) includes 1.316 recognised species [1]
This paper describes the use of morphological and molecular techniques to identify collections to species level during the Entomological Surveillance Program (ESP) from 2005 to 2010 including thirteen Culicoides species reported for the first time in mainland Portugal or from Azores archipelago
A – Date of the first specimen identification; B – Percentage of Culicoides specimens found in the island until November 2010; NR – Not reported; {Obsoletus Group include the females of the C. obsoletus s.s., C. scoticus, C. chiopterus and C. dewulfi species; 1All the specimens found are referred to the male genre, except *where 5 females were identified based on morphological features and **where 8 females where identified by multiplex PCR [15]

Summary

Introduction

The genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) includes 1.316 recognised species [1]. This paper describes the use of morphological and molecular techniques to identify collections to species level during the ESP from 2005 to 2010 including thirteen Culicoides species reported for the first time in mainland Portugal or from Azores archipelago.

Results

Conclusion