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Guimerà Busquets M, Brown FV, Carpenter ST, Darpel KE, Sanders CJ. Visualisation of Bluetongue Virus in the Salivary Apparatus of Culicoides Biting Midges Highlights the Accessory Glands as a Primary Arboviral Infection Site. Biol Proced Online 2023; 25:27. [PMID: 37932658 PMCID: PMC10626815 DOI: 10.1186/s12575-023-00221-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Arthropods transmit a wide range of pathogens of importance for the global health of humans, animals, and plants. One group of these arthropod vectors, Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), is the biological vector of several human and animal pathogens, including economically important livestock viruses like bluetongue virus (BTV). Like other arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), Culicoides-borne viruses must reach and replicate in the salivary apparatus, from where they can be transmitted to susceptible hosts through the saliva during subsequent blood feeding. Despite the importance of the salivary gland apparatus for pathogen transmission to susceptible animals from the bite of infected Culicoides, these structures have received relatively little attention, perhaps due to the small size and fragility of these vectors. RESULTS In this study, we developed techniques to visualize the infection of the salivary glands and other soft tissues with BTV, in some of the smallest known arbovirus vectors, Culicoides biting midges, using three-dimensional immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. We showed BTV infection of specific structures of the salivary gland apparatus of female Culicoides vectors following oral virus uptake, related visualisation of viral infection in the salivary apparatus to high viral RNA copies in the body, and demonstrated for the first time, that the accessory glands are a primary site for BTV replication within the salivary apparatus. CONCLUSIONS Our work has revealed a novel site of virus-vector interactions, and a novel role of the accessory glands of Culicoides in arbovirus amplification and transmission. Our approach would also be applicable to a wide range of arbovirus vector groups including sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae), as well as provide a powerful tool to investigate arbovirus infection and dissemination, particularly where there are practical challenges in the visualization of small size and delicate tissues of arthropods.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Faye V Brown
- The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, GU24 0NF, UK
| | - Simon T Carpenter
- The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, GU24 0NF, UK
- The School of the Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RX, UK
| | - Karin E Darpel
- The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, GU24 0NF, UK
- Institute of Virology and Immunology, Mittelhäusern, 3147, Switzerland
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
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Grace KEF, Papadopoulou C, Floyd T, Avigad R, Collins S, White E, Batten C, Flannery J, Gubbins S, Carpenter ST. Risk-based surveillance for bluetongue virus in cattle on the south coast of England in 2017 and 2018. Vet Rec 2020; 187:e96. [PMID: 32917835 PMCID: PMC7786256 DOI: 10.1136/vr.106016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bluetongue (BT) is a viral disease of ruminants and camelids which can have a significant impact on animal health and welfare and cause severe economic loss. The UK has been officially free of bluetongue virus (BTV) since 2011. In 2015, BTV-8 re-emerged in France and since then BTV has been spreading throughout Europe. In response to this outbreak, risk-based active surveillance was carried out at the end of the vector seasons in 2017 and 2018 to assess the risk of incursion of BTV into Great Britain. METHOD Atmospheric dispersion modelling identified counties on the south coast of England at higher risk of an incursion. Blood samples were collected from cattle in five counties based on a sample size designed to detect at least one positive if the prevalence was 5 per cent or greater, with 95 per cent confidence. RESULTS No virus was detected in the 478 samples collected from 32 farms at the end of the 2017 vector season or in the 646 samples collected from 43 farms at the end of the 2018 vector season, when tested by RT-qPCR. CONCLUSION The negative results from this risk-based survey provided evidence to support the continuation of the UK's official BTV-free status.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Tobias Floyd
- Pathology, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Addlestone, UK
| | - Rachelle Avigad
- Department of Epidemiological Sciences, APHA, Addlestone, UK
| | - Steve Collins
- Information Management and Technology, APHA, Worcester, UK
| | | | - Carrie Batten
- The Non-Vesicular Reference Laboratories, Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, Surrey, UK
| | - John Flannery
- The Non-Vesicular Reference Laboratories, Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, Surrey, UK
| | - Simon Gubbins
- Transmission Biology, The Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, Surrey, UK
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Brugman VA, Medlock JM, Logan JG, Wilson AJ, Lindsay SW, Fooks AR, Mertens PPC, Johnson N, Carpenter ST. Bird-biting mosquitoes on farms in southern England. Vet Rec 2018; 183:474. [PMID: 30099408 PMCID: PMC6227795 DOI: 10.1136/vr.104830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Victor Albert Brugman
- Entomology group, The Pirbright Institute, Woking, UK.,Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Jolyon M Medlock
- Department of Medical Entomology & Zoonoses Ecology, Emergency Response Department, Public Health England, Salisbury, UK.,Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging Infections & Zoonoses, Salisbury, UK
| | - James G Logan
- Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | | | - Steve W Lindsay
- Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.,Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Anthony R Fooks
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, Weybridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Peter P C Mertens
- Entomology group, The Pirbright Institute, Woking, UK.,School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Nicholas Johnson
- Animal and Plant Health Agency, Weybridge, UK.,Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
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Tuppurainen ES, Lubinga JC, Stoltsz WH, Troskie M, Carpenter ST, Coetzer JA, Venter EH, Oura CA. Evidence of vertical transmission of lumpy skin disease virus in Rhipicephalus decoloratus ticks. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2013; 4:329-33. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2012] [Revised: 01/11/2013] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Sanders CJ, Gubbins S, Mellor PS, Barber J, Golding N, Harrup LE, Carpenter ST. Investigation of diel activity of Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the United Kingdom by using a vehicle-mounted trap. J Med Entomol 2012; 49:757-765. [PMID: 22679886 DOI: 10.1603/me11259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Truck trap collections of Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) were made during 2 yr of sampling from 2008 to 2009 at a farm site in southern England. Samples were collected from 810 sample runs carried out over 52 d and contained 7,095 Culicoides of which more than half (50.3%) were identified as Culicoides obsoletus Meigen by using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay. Other commonly encountered species included Culicoides scoticus Downes & Kettle (14.7% of total Culicoides caught), Culicoides dewulfi Goetghebuer (3.7%), and Culicoides chiopterus Meigen (4.2%). The activity rates of these species were examined with regard to both meteorological factors (light intensity, humidity, temperature, and wind speed and direction) and other potentially contributing variables (lunar phase and brightness, sunset time, and year) by using generalized linear models. All the species examined were collected in greater abundance at sunset, although the relationship between underlying light intensity and numbers was less pronounced in C. dewulfi and C. chiopterus. Collections of Culicoides were reduced at temperatures above 21 degrees C and were inversely related to wind speed. Variation between species was recorded, however, in response to wind direction: C. dewulfi and C. chiopterus were associated with prevailing winds passing through fields containing livestock, whereas C. obsoletus and C. scoticus demonstrated no such relationship. A male:female ratio of 1:3.56 was observed in catches, and male populations were protandrous. These results are discussed with reference both to the ecology of these species and methods currently used to predict adult Culicoides movement and abundance in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Sanders
- Pirbright Laboratory, Institute for Animal Health, Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey, GU24 0NF, United Kingdom.
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Veronesi E, Mertens PPC, Shaw AE, Brownlie J, Mellor PS, Carpenter ST. Quantifying bluetongue virus in adult Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). J Med Entomol 2008; 45:129-132. [PMID: 18283953 DOI: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[129:qbviac]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
A TissueLyser system (QIAGEN) was used to rapidly and accurately estimate bluetongue virus "loads" in individual adult Culicoides sonorensis Wirth & Jones (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). The optimized homogenization program that was developed, involved shaking insects for 1 min at 25 Hz with 2- or 3-mm stainless steel ball bearings. This program was used to measure the quantities of bluetongue virus present in insects that had either been inoculated or had ingested a viremic bloodmeal through an artificial membrane. The virus titers obtained using either infection technique and the optimized program did not differ significantly from those obtained using a polypropylene motor-driven pestle, a method that is currently in common use for studies of vector competence). The advantages of the new method, as a rapid means of detecting fully disseminated infections in individual field-caught flies, are discussed. Its use is compared with the processing of pools of Culicoides by conventional methods, where the extent of dissemination of the virus is unknown and could wrongly implicate species that are of low importance in transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Veronesi
- Institute for Animal Health, Department of Arbovirology, Ash Road, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom.
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