Evidence of Culiseta mosquitoes as vectors for Plasmodium parasites in Alaska

ABSTRACTMosquito vectors play a crucial role in the distribution of avianPlasmodium parasites worldwide. At northern latitudes, where climate warming is most pronounced, there are questions about possible changes in the abundance and distribution ofPlasmodium parasites, their vectors, and their impacts to avian hosts. To better understand the transmission ofPlasmodium among local birds and to gather baseline data on potential vectors, we sampled a total of 3,909 mosquitoes from three locations in south ‐central Alaska during the summer of 2016. We screened mosquitoes for the presence ofPlasmodium parasites using molecular techniques and estimatedPlasmodium infection rates per 1,000 mosquitoes using maximum likelihood methods. We found low estimated infection rates across all mosquitoes (1.28 per 1,000), with significantly higher rates inCuliseta mosquitoes (7.91 per 1,000) than inAedes mosquitoes (0.57 per 1,000). We detectedPlasmodium in a single head/thorax sample ofCuliseta, indicating potential for transmission of these parasites by mosquitoes of this genus.Plasmodium parasite DNA isolated from mosquitoes showed a 100% identity match to the BT7Plasmodium lineage that has been detected in numerous avian species worldwide. Additionally, microscopic analysis of blood smears collected from black ‐capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) at the same locations revealed infection by parasites preliminarily identified asPlasmodium circumflexum. Results from our study provide ...
Source: Journal of Vector Ecology - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research