Rapid and Effcient Detection by PCR of Culicoides insignis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), the Main Vector of Bluetongue Virus (BTV) in the Neotropical Region

MAHIA MARIEL AYALA; FLORENTINA DIAZ; MARÍA VICTORIA MICIELI; SPINELLI, GUSTAVO RICARDO; MARÍA MARCELA RONDEROS

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC AMER

Lugar: Lanham; Año: 2022

0022-2585

Bluetongue virus (BTV) causes a viral, non-contagious disease that mainly affects sheep, cattle, and wild and farmed ruminants causing damage to these animals and signifcant economic losses. Culicoides insignis Lutz, the major BTV vector in South America, is one of the most abundant species in Argentina and commonly associated with cattle farms. The morphological identifcation of Culicoides spp. is routinely carried out with the aid of morphological keys, which mainly refer to the wing patterns, sensillae of palpi, and antennal fagella. Molecular tools applied to taxonomy provide a rapid and effcient method of identifcation of vector species. An easy protocol for the extraction of total DNA from single midges is herein described, and a forward primer for rapid and reliably test detection by polymerase chain reaction of C. insignis is developed.