Location: Arthropod-borne Animal Diseases Research
Project Number: 3020-10400-001-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Oct 1, 2024
End Date: Sep 30, 2029
Objective:
Objective 1: Leverage insect biology and ecology to predict the location and improve management of biting midges and house flies.
Sub-objective 1.A: Determine response to chemical and environmental stressors in biting midges and house flies.
Sub-objective 1.B: Improve genomic resources for biting midges and determine differential gene expression in midges and house flies under stress.
Objective 2: Develop and improve methods for monitoring and surveilling biting midge and house fly populations and the pathogens they vector.
Sub-objective 2.A: Monitor the house fly “resistome” through metagenomics.
Sub-objective 2.B: Investigate the spatial ecology of larval Culicoides to improve surveillance capabilities and understanding of overwintering ecology.
Objective 3: Understand and model impacts of changing environmental conditions on vectorial capacity and production of biting midges and house flies.
Sub-objective 3.A: Determine the effect of environmental temperature on biological traits of house flies and biting midges associated with vectorial capacity.
Sub-objective 3.B: Predict biting midge and house fly temperature sensitive survival and activity under current and projected climate scenarios.
Approach:
Dipteran pests and vectors cause economic impacts to livestock producers through direct and indirect damage to animals, including annoyance, painful bites, and disease transmission, leading to decreased productivity. Two groups impacting livestock production are Culicoides biting midges and house flies. Biting midges are nuisance pests and transmit several pathogens of livestock, such as bluetongue and vesicular stomatitis viruses, causing morbidity and mortality in susceptible animals. House flies are nuisance pests to humans and livestock that transport and transmit microbes, including antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Our objectives are to: (1) leverage insect biology and ecology to predict the location and improve management of biting midges and house flies, (2) develop and improve methods for monitoring and surveilling biting midge and house fly populations and the pathogens they vector, and (3) understand and model impacts of changing environmental conditions on vectorial capacity and production of biting midges and house flies. For the first objective, insecticide resistance and environmental threshold profiles of our study insects will be determined (Sub-obj. 1.A). A new Culicoides sonorensis genome will be assembled and annotated to complement the available house fly genome, and gene expression studies targeting phenotypes in Sub-obj. 1.A will identify stress related genes for targeted management (Sub-obj. 1.B). In objective two, house flies will be used as a tool to survey cattle operations for antimicrobial and insecticide resistance (Sub-obj. 2.A) and surveillance capabilities of Culicoides will be improved by determining the relationship between larval habitat depth and temperature (Sub-obj. 2.B). For objective three, impacts of environmental conditions on biological traits that affect vectorial capacity will be investigated (Sub-obj. 3.A) and used to develop mechanistic models predicting vector activity (Sub-obj. 3.B). These studies will improve our ability to control, monitor, and predict impacts of climate change on these insects, benefiting animal health and livestock production.
