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ViewAttendees 11

MUVE

10-Minute Paper

10-min: MUVE, Veterinary Entomology: Flies

Characterization of Wolbachia infections in cell lines and detection in natural populations of Culicoides midges

On-Demand
On-Demand
Biting midges in the genus Culicoides are known to vector a number of veterinary and human pathogens. Many of these pathogens lack effective therapeutic treatments or vaccines and the only effective approach to limit disease transmission is vector control. Current vector control for Culicoides midges is complicated by the biology of many Culicoides species and are not always effective at reducing midge populations and impacting disease transmission. The endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis may offer an alternative control approach to limit disease transmission. In this presentation, we discuss the transfection and characterization of Culicoides sonorensis cell lines with Wolbachia and the detection ofWolbachia infections in nine species of Culicoides midges. Infections were found at low densities using conventional PCR and required the use of more sensitive qPCR techniques to detect infections. Wolbachia infections were confirmed with sequencing of a partial region of the 16S gene. Fluorescence in situ hybridization of C. sonorensis adults and dissected ovaries demonstrate the presence of Wolbachia infections in an significant vector of Bluetongue and Epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses. We discuss the potential use of Wolbachia to limit transmission of pathogens vectored by Culicoides midges.