Culicoides smulkiųjų mašalų (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) mitybos analizė /

Numerous important viruses and parasites for humans and animals are transmitted by Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). It is essential to comprehend the eating habits of hematophagous insects in order to comprehend the transmission mechanism of illnesses carried by vectors. The purpose of this study was to look into where the biting midges, which were gathered from several study sites in Lithuania, got their blood meal from as well as to determine ornithophilic and mammalophilic species. A total of 3468 Culicoides females were collected from 2021-2023year results. In total, 258 (7.4%) of them were engorged and vertebrate DNA was successfully amplified in 82 of them (31.8%). However, the source of the blood meal was identified in 67 (81.7%) individuals. Insects were collected by the staff of P. B. Šivickis Laboratory of Parasitology, Nature Research Centre. The biting midges were collected between June and September 2022-2023 using UV LED‐light traps. The blood meal source of biting midges was identified using a PCR protocol that amplifies a fragment of the cytochrome b gene of vertebrates. Sequencing analysis showed that these insects took blood meals in birds most abundantly (n=49, 73.1%), whereas the rest fed on mammals (n=18, 26.9%) . Among the bird species that biting midges took their blood meal, the most common was the blackbird (Turdus merula). The mammal blood meal sources were mainly cattle (Bos taurus), humans (Homo sapiens), and domestic cat (Felis catus). Additionally, the found Culicoides ornithophilic species were C. segnis, C. kibunensis, C. festivipennis and C. pictipennis. Mammalophilic species were C. obsoletus and C. palidicornis. Additionally, it is likely that C. kibunensis, C. segnis, and C. pictipennis are the main vectors of avian blood parasites in Lithuania, with C. festivipennis playing a smaller role in these transmissions.

Grantor dc:publisher

Institutional Repository of Vilnius University

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Kondrotaitė, Simona,

Statement dc:rights

• info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Language dc:language

lit

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.vu.lt/VU:ELABAETD210642250&prefLang=en_US

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vu.lt:elaba:210642250