Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, China

Background & objectives: Biting midges are hematophagous arthropods responsible for zoonotic infectious diseases and have a wide distribution in temperate and tropical latitudes of the world. Methods: The genomic DNA of midge samples was extracted using the Chelex method and the ITS1gene was amp...

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Main Authors: Yaj Lu, Jie Su, Shi Cheng, Yax Hu, Qianf Xia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Vector Borne Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/JVBD.JVBD_100_23
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author Yaj Lu
Jie Su
Shi Cheng
Yax Hu
Qianf Xia
author_facet Yaj Lu
Jie Su
Shi Cheng
Yax Hu
Qianf Xia
author_sort Yaj Lu
collection DOAJ
description Background & objectives: Biting midges are hematophagous arthropods responsible for zoonotic infectious diseases and have a wide distribution in temperate and tropical latitudes of the world. Methods: The genomic DNA of midge samples was extracted using the Chelex method and the ITS1gene was amplified by PCR to identify the midge species via BLAST. The sequence characteristics and the genetic diversity were analyzed using ClustalOmega, DnaSP, Arlequin, PopART, and TCS software tool. The validity of the ITS1 gene as a DNA barcode marker was evaluated using DAMBE. The phylogenetic relationship was established in the MEGA software. The ABGD web determined the species boundary and the SDT software visualized the pairwise sequence comparisons. Results: A total of 39 midge samples possessed the range from 364 to 429 bp of the ITS1 sequences. The midge samples were identified as Culicoides imicola, Culicoides oxystoma, Culicoides peregrinus, Culicoides jacobsoni, Forcipomyia peregrinator, and Culicoides fulvus, respectively. The ITS1 sequences had 288 conserved sites (60.25%), 167 variable sites (34.94%), 141 parsimony-informative sites (29.50%), and 26 singleton sites (5.44%), with a considerable sequence variation with a high haplotype diversity. Populations in Lingao, Haikou, Tunchang were relatively independent, with a low level of gene flow. A separate population of Forcipomyia genus in Danzhou was observed. Interpretation & conclusion: The biting midges in Hainan, a tropical island in China, had abundant genetic diversity. Timely surveillance is a crucial control measure for the spread of midge-borne diseases.
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spelling doaj-art-b24c8e6ed76b483ca2b1a02b79ba2bd22025-08-20T01:53:19ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Vector Borne Diseases0972-90622025-01-01621455010.4103/JVBD.JVBD_100_23Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, ChinaYaj LuJie SuShi ChengYax HuQianf XiaBackground & objectives: Biting midges are hematophagous arthropods responsible for zoonotic infectious diseases and have a wide distribution in temperate and tropical latitudes of the world. Methods: The genomic DNA of midge samples was extracted using the Chelex method and the ITS1gene was amplified by PCR to identify the midge species via BLAST. The sequence characteristics and the genetic diversity were analyzed using ClustalOmega, DnaSP, Arlequin, PopART, and TCS software tool. The validity of the ITS1 gene as a DNA barcode marker was evaluated using DAMBE. The phylogenetic relationship was established in the MEGA software. The ABGD web determined the species boundary and the SDT software visualized the pairwise sequence comparisons. Results: A total of 39 midge samples possessed the range from 364 to 429 bp of the ITS1 sequences. The midge samples were identified as Culicoides imicola, Culicoides oxystoma, Culicoides peregrinus, Culicoides jacobsoni, Forcipomyia peregrinator, and Culicoides fulvus, respectively. The ITS1 sequences had 288 conserved sites (60.25%), 167 variable sites (34.94%), 141 parsimony-informative sites (29.50%), and 26 singleton sites (5.44%), with a considerable sequence variation with a high haplotype diversity. Populations in Lingao, Haikou, Tunchang were relatively independent, with a low level of gene flow. A separate population of Forcipomyia genus in Danzhou was observed. Interpretation & conclusion: The biting midges in Hainan, a tropical island in China, had abundant genetic diversity. Timely surveillance is a crucial control measure for the spread of midge-borne diseases.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/JVBD.JVBD_100_23midgesspecies discriminationinternal transcribed spacer 1gene flowpopulation migration
spellingShingle Yaj Lu
Jie Su
Shi Cheng
Yax Hu
Qianf Xia
Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, China
Journal of Vector Borne Diseases
midges
species discrimination
internal transcribed spacer 1
gene flow
population migration
title Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, China
title_full Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, China
title_fullStr Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, China
title_full_unstemmed Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, China
title_short Molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the tropical environment on Hainan Island, China
title_sort molecular identification and genetic diversity of biting midges diptera ceratopogonidae in the tropical environment on hainan island china
topic midges
species discrimination
internal transcribed spacer 1
gene flow
population migration
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/JVBD.JVBD_100_23
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