title: Studying Culicoides vectors of BTV in the post-genomic era: resources, bottlenecks to progress and future directions.
abstract: Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are a major vector group responsible for the biological transmission of a wide variety of globally significant arboviruses, including bluetongue virus (BTV). In this review we examine current biological resources for the study of this genus, with an emphasis on detailing the history of extant colonies and cell lines derived from C. sonorensis, the major vector of BTV in the USA. We then discuss the rapidly developing area of genomic and transcriptomic analyses of biological processes in vectors and introduce the newly formed Culicoides Genomics and Transcriptomics Alliance. Preliminary results from these fields are detailed and finally likely areas of future research are discussed from an entomological perspective describing limitations in our understanding of Culicoides biology that may impede progress in these areas.
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, Arthropod Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, 1515 College Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA. Electronic address: dana.nayduch@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nayduch
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS, Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, Arthropod Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, 1515 College Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA.
authors.forename: Lee W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Cohnstaedt
authors.affiliation: Clemson University Genomics Institute, Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, BRC #310, 105 Collins Street, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saski
authors.affiliation: EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kersey
authors.affiliation: Vector-borne Viral Disease Programme, The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fife
authors.affiliation: Vector-borne Viral Disease Programme, The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carpenter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001179:Arthropod Vectors; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000502:physiology*; D002519:Ceratopogonidae / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology*; D023281:Genomics; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D059467:Transcriptome
keywords: Cell lines; Ceratopogonidae; Comparative genomics; RNA-Seq; Transcriptome; Vector