title: DNA barcoding and surveillance sampling strategies for Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in southern India.
abstract: Culicoides spp. biting midges transmit bluetongue virus (BTV), the aetiological agent of bluetongue (BT), an economically important disease of ruminants. In southern India, hyperendemic outbreaks of BT exert high cost to subsistence farmers in the region, impacting on sheep production. Effective Culicoides spp. monitoring methods coupled with accurate species identification can accelerate responses for minimising BT outbreaks. Here, we assessed the utility of sampling methods and DNA barcoding for detection and identification of Culicoides spp. in southern India, in order to provide an informed basis for future monitoring of their populations in the region.
  
  
  
  Culicoides spp. collected from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were used to construct a framework for future morphological identification in surveillance, based on sequence comparison of the DNA barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene and achieving quality standards defined by the Barcode of Life initiative. Pairwise catches of Culicoides spp. were compared in diversity and abundance between green (570 nm) and ultraviolet (UV) (390 nm) light emitting diode (LED) suction traps at a single site in Chennai, Tamil Nadu over 20 nights of sampling in November 2013.
  
  
  
  DNA barcode sequences of Culicoides spp. were mostly congruent both with existing DNA barcode data from other countries and with morphological identification of major vector species. However, sequence differences symptomatic of cryptic species diversity were present in some groups which require further investigation. While the diversity of species collected by the UV LED Center for Disease Control (CDC) trap did not significantly vary from that collected by the green LED CDC trap, the UV CDC significantly outperformed the green LED CDC trap with regard to the number of Culicoides individuals collected.
  
  
  
  Morphological identification of the majority of potential vector species of Culicoides spp. samples within southern India appears relatively robust; however, potential cryptic species diversity was present in some groups requiring further investigation. The UV LED CDC trap is recommended for surveillance of Culicoides in southern India.
authors.affiliation: Vector-borne Viral Diseases Programme, The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, Surrey, GU24 0NF, UK. lara.harrup@pirbright.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Lara E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Harrup
authors.affiliation: Vaccine Research Centre-Viral Vaccines, Centre for Animal Health Studies, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Madhavaram Milk Colony, Chennai, 600 051, India.
authors.forename: Swathi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laban
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.
authors.forename: Bethan V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Purse
authors.affiliation: Vaccine Research Centre-Viral Vaccines, Centre for Animal Health Studies, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Madhavaram Milk Colony, Chennai, 600 051, India.
authors.forename: Yarabolu Krishnamohan
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Science, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 500030, Andhra Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Yella Narasimha
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Hebbal, 560024, Bengaluru, India.
authors.forename: Sonnahallipura Munivenkatappa
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Byregowda
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Hebbal, 560024, Bengaluru, India.
authors.forename: Naveen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Hebbal, 560024, Bengaluru, India.
authors.forename: Kondappa Muniramaiah
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Purushotham
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Hebbal, 560024, Bengaluru, India.
authors.forename: Shrikant
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kowalli
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, College of Veterinary Science, Hisar, 125004, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: Minakshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biotechnology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, College of Veterinary Science, Hisar, 125004, Haryana, India.|Indian Council Agricultural Research, New Delhi, 110 001, India.
authors.forename: Gaya
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Alison A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Bettis
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Rien
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Keyser
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.affiliation: Cirad, UMR15 CMAEE, F-34398, Montpellier, France.|INRA, UMR1309 CMAEE, F-34398, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Garros
authors.affiliation: NSW Department of Primary Industries, PMB, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2650, Australia.|Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gopurenko
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Winnellie, Australia.
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bellis
authors.affiliation: Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, PVVD, ZA-0110, Onderstepoort, South Africa.|Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, ZA-0002, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Karien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Labuschagne
authors.affiliation: Institut de Parasitologie et de Pathologie tropicale de Strasbourg (IPPTS), EA7292, Faculté de Médecine, 3 rue Koeberlé, F-67000, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.affiliation: Vector-borne Viral Diseases Programme, The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Woking, Surrey, GU24 0NF, UK.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carpenter
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D002519:Ceratopogonidae / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D007194:India; D010802:Phylogeny; D011159:Population Surveillance; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: Arbovirus; BOLD; Bluetongue virus; COI; Culicoides; DNA barcode; LED; Surveillance