Microbial diversity analysis of Culicoides in key areas of Eastern China
HAN Ziqi
YANG Zurong
SHAO Zhongjun
LU Xiyan
Abstract：Objective To examine the background and biological characteristics of Culicoides microbial community in some endemic regions of Eastern China.Methods Three sampling sites were selected and established in Xunke County,Heilongjiang Province,Changbai Korean Autonomous County,Jilin Province,and Zhoushan City,Zhejiang Province.From July 2020 to August 2023,light trapping method(photocatalytic mosquito lure lamp)was employed to collect Culicoides samples.The dominant species of Culicoides were identified by morphological identification.Nucleic acid extraction and sequencing of the samples were performed using second-generation sequencing technology.Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to obtain information on abundance at the corresponding taxonomic level.Results Based on the sampling areas,Culicoides punctatus and Culicoides sinanoensis were identified as the dominant Culicoides species in Xunke County of Heilongjiang Province,Culicoides sinanoensis was identified as the dominant Culicoides species in Changbai Korean Autonomous County of Jilin Province,while Culicoides arakawae was found to be the dominant Culicoides species in Zhoushan City of Zhejiang Province.The differences among the various sampling sites were statistically significant.Microbial analysis revealed that the dominant phylum among the nine samples was Chordata,with an average relative abundance of 47.04％,and the dominant genus was Clostridium,with an average relative abundance of 5.75％.Statistically significant differences in species richness were observed between groups,as indicated by Chao1 index(P=0.005).Characteristic biomarkers were identified at each sampling site:Mammalia in the Culicoides species from Xunke County,Apicomplexa in the Culicoides species from Zhoushan City,and Solanales in the Culicoides species from Changbai Korean Autonomous County.Additionally,it was found that different Culicoides species carried distinct viruses.Conclusion The samples of Culicoides reveal a diverse microbial community,consisting of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms.A comprehensive understanding of the pathogen-carrying status of these vector samples is essential for the clinical diagnosis of unknown emerging diseases,which can provide valuable scientific guidance for effective disease treatment in these areas.
Keywords：Culicoidesmetagenomic sequencingbioinformatics analysisbiodiversityEastern Chinamicroorganism
Publication Date：2025-05-31
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 598-604 )