Description of Culicoides (Culicoides) bysta n. sp., a new member of the Pulicaris group (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Slovakia

Abstract

BackgroundSpecies of the genus Culicoides Latreille, 1809 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are mainly known as vectors of arboviruses such as bluetongue (BTV) and Schmallenberg (SBV). Among the known vectors, few species within the subgenus Culicoides Latreille, 1809 have been implicated in the transmission of BTV and SBV. Nevertheless, phylogenetic studies had revealed the presence of cryptic and undescribed species in Europe, raising questions about their vectorial role. A previous integrative study, associating morphology and barcode data, raised the hypothesis of the presence of undescribed species in Slovakia. The present study, combining morphological and molecular approaches, is aimed to support the hypothesis and a description of Culicoides bysta n. sp. is provided.MethodsSeries of male and female specimens were dissected and several of them were sequenced for the barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1). Bayesian inference phylogenetic analyses based on 72 cox1 sequences of the species belonging to the Pulicaris group of the subgenus Culicoides, were carried out and the frequencies of intra/interspecific variations were analyzed. The morphology of abundant material of the new species (31 females and 12 males) was examined and compared with the paratypes of Culicoides boyi Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015 and with specimens of Culicoides pulicaris Linnaeus, 1758. For females, suture distances on the eyes were newly evaluated as a diagnostic character and for males we assessed a new measurement on the ninth tergite and on the apicolateral processes.ResultsBoth phylogenetic analysis and barcode distances supported the distinct status of the new species, Culicoides bysta n. sp. described as a member of the Pulicaris group based on the morphology of males and females. The new species is closely related to C. boyi and C. pulicaris but can be distinguished on the basis of the wing pattern and the ratio between the two eye sutures. Both newly evaluated characters, i.e. eyes in females and male genitalia appeared to be diagnostic for distinguishing the new species described herein.ConclusionsThe vector potential of the recently described species C. boyi and C. bysta n. sp. to transmit arboviruses, such as BTV and SBV, is unknown. When considering these two species as being close to C. pulicaris, the previous data, such as the vector implication for C. pulicaris in BTV transmission, should be revaluated in future.

Barcoding of the Genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Austria—An Update of the Species Inventory Including the First Records of Three Species in Austria

“…nov. [27]. In a Turkish study, three different haplotypes of C. lupicaris were recovered [27][28][29][30] and results obtained here indicate a similar situation in C. pulicaris.…”

Blood-meal analysis of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) reveals a broad host range and new species records for Romania

“…DNA barcoding is an important tool in biodiversity studies [53][54][55][56][57]. Thereby, barcoding also helped to identify cryptic and new Culicoides species [58][59][60]. In this study, successful sequencing of 1040 engorged insects demonstrated that barcoding is a useful tool for both, Culicoides and host identification.…”

The State of Phylogenetic Analysis: Narrow Visions and Simple Answers—Examples from the Diptera (flies)

“…One difficulty as presented by some studies where CO1 sequencing and, perhaps, that of another gene or two is used as a phylogenetic tool is that they often concern relatively small groups of morphologically similar species such as species groups of Culicoides (Ander et al, 2013;Bakhoum et al, 2013;Bellis et al, 2014;Harrup et al, 2016;Muñoz-Muñoz et al, 2014;Pagès et al, 2009;Sarvašová, et al, 2017;Talavera et al, 2017;Tay et al, 2016). Morphologically-based synapomorphies are less likely to be evident (or present) in such similar species groups.…”