Insecticide susceptibility of Ephemera orientalis (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae) and two mosquito species, Anopheles sinensis and Culex pipiens in the Republic of Korea

ABSTRACT To develop a vaccine to block the transmission of vivax malaria, the gene encoding the ookinete surface protein Pvs25 was cloned from a Korean malaria patient. The Pvs25 gene was 660 bp long, encoding 219 amino acids. It was subcloned into the expression vector pQE30 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The expressed recombinant protein, named rPvs25, showed a molecular mass of approximately 25 kDa by SDS-PAGE analysis. An anti-rPvs25 monoclonal antibody produced in BALB/c mice was able to inhibit sporozoite development in the mosquito Anopheles sinensis, which is known as the malaria transmission vector in the Republic of Korea. In addition, rPvs25 produced a relatively high antibody titer in BALB/c mice that lasted for more than 6 months. Based on these results, we suggest that recombinant Pvs25 could be a useful antigen in the development of a vaccine to prevent local malaria transmission in the Republic of Korea.

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Mosquito Species Composition and Plasmodium vivax infection Rates for Korean Army Bases near the Demilitarized Zone in the Republic of Korea, 2011

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene ◽

10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0755 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 88 (1) ◽

pp. 24-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Dae-Hyun Yoo ◽

Mi-Yeoun Park ◽

E-Hyun Shin ◽

Kyu-Sik Chang ◽

Hyun Kyung Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Composition ◽

Plasmodium Vivax ◽

Mosquito Species ◽

Vivax Infection ◽

Republic Of Korea ◽

Infection Rates ◽

Demilitarized Zone ◽

The Republic

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National Monitoring of Mosquito Populations and Molecular Analysis of Flavivirus in the Republic of Korea in 2020

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9102085 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 2085

Author(s):

Min-Goo Seo ◽

Hak Seon Lee ◽

Sung-Chan Yang ◽

Byung-Eon Noh ◽

Tae-Kyu Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mosquito Species ◽

Migratory Bird ◽

Republic Of Korea ◽

Armigeres Subalbatus ◽

National Monitoring ◽

Control And Prevention ◽

The Republic ◽

Flavivirus Infection ◽

Genotype V

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has established centers at 16 locations to screen vector populations and pathogens. The aims of this study were to determine the relative spatiotemporal distributions of mosquitoes that are flavivirus vectors, and to correlate them with instances of flaviviral disease in the Republic of Korea (ROK). We collected 67,203 mosquitoes in traps at 36 collection sites in 30 urban regions and migratory bird habitats in 2020. The trap index was 36.6, and the predominant mosquito species were the Culex pipiens complex, Armigeres subalbatus, Aedes albopictus, Aedes vexans, and Culex tritaeniorhynchus. The mosquitoes were pooled into 4953 pools to monitor flavivirus infection. We determined that the minimum infection rate of flavivirus was 0.01%. Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was detected in only seven pools of Culex orientalis from Sangju, and we isolated JVE from two pools. All detected JEV was found to be genotype V by phylogenetic analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to isolate genotype V JVE from Culex orientalis in the ROK. Subsequent geographical and ecological studies on mosquitoes will help improve our understanding of the relative risk of flavivirus infection. Future studies should analyze mosquito species distribution and improve flavivirus monitoring and long-term surveillance.

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Metagenomic sequencing reveals viral abundance and diversity in mosquitoes from the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region, China

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

10.1371/journal.pntd.0009381 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. e0009381

Author(s):

Xiaozhou He ◽

Qikai Yin ◽

Liwei Zhou ◽

Lei Meng ◽

Weijun Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Culex Pipiens ◽

High Throughput Sequencing ◽

Mosquito Species ◽

Gansu Province ◽

Anopheles Sinensis ◽

Northwestern China ◽

Shaanxi Province ◽

Viral Diversity ◽

Metagenomic Sequencing ◽

Culex Tritaeniorhynchus

Background Mosquitoes host and transmit numerous arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) that cause disease in both humans and animals. Effective surveillance of virome profiles in mosquitoes is vital to the prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases in northwestern China, where epidemics occur frequently. Methods Mosquitoes were collected in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region (Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region) of China from June to August 2019. Morphological methods were used for taxonomic identification of mosquito species. High-throughput sequencing and metagenomic analysis were used to characterize mosquito viromes. Results A total of 22,959 mosquitoes were collected, including Culex pipiens (45.7%), Culex tritaeniorhynchus (40.6%), Anopheles sinensis (8.4%), Aedes (5.2%), and Armigeres subalbatus (0.1%). In total, 3,014,183 (0.95% of clean reads) viral sequences were identified and assigned to 116 viral species (including pathogens such as Japanese encephalitis virus and Getah virus) in 31 viral families, including Flaviviridae, Togaviridae, Phasmaviridae, Phenuiviridae, and some unclassified viruses. Mosquitoes collected in July (86 species in 26 families) showed greater viral diversity than those from June and August. Culex pipiens (69 species in 25 families) and Culex tritaeniorhynchus (73 species in 24 families) carried more viral species than Anopheles sinensis (50 species in 19 families) or Aedes (38 species in 20 families) mosquitoes. Conclusion Viral diversity and abundance were affected by mosquito species and collection time. The present study elucidates the virome compositions of various mosquito species in northwestern China, improving the understanding of virus transmission dynamics for comparison with those of disease outbreaks.

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Molecular detection and identification of Culex flavivirus in mosquito species from Jeju, Republic of Korea

Virology Journal ◽

10.1186/s12985-021-01618-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shilpa Chatterjee ◽

Choon-Mee Kim ◽

Na Ra Yun ◽

Dong-Min Kim ◽

Hyeon Je Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Culex Pipiens ◽

Yellow Fever Virus ◽

Nonstructural Protein ◽

Mosquito Species ◽

Evolutionary Relationship ◽

Republic Of Korea ◽

Adult Mosquito ◽

Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Detection And Identification ◽

Culex Flavivirus

Abstract Background Mosquito-borne flaviviruses are prime pathogens and have been a major hazard to humans and animals. They comprise several arthropod-borne viruses, including dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and West Nile virus. Culex flavivirus (CxFV) is a member of the insect-specific flavivirus (ISF) group belonging to the genus Flavivirus, which is widely distributed in a variety of mosquito populations. Methods Viral nucleic acid was extracted from adult mosquito pools and subjected to reverse transcriptase nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using target-specific primers for detecting CxFV nonstructural protein 5 (NS5). The PCR-positive samples were then sequenced, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed, including reference sequences obtained from GenBank. Results 21 pools, belonging to Culex pipiens pallens (Cx. p. pallens) were found to be positive for the CxFV RNA sequence, with a minimum infection rate of 14.5/1000 mosquitoes. The phylogenetic analysis of the NS5 protein sequences indicated that the detected sequences were closely related to strains identified in China, with 95–98% sequence similarities. Conclusion Our findings highlight the presence of CxFV in Cx. p. pallens mosquito species in Jeju province, Republic of Korea. This is the first study reporting the prevalence of CxFV in Culex Pipiens (Cx. pipiens) host in the Jeju province, which can create possible interaction with other flaviviruses causing human and animal diseases. Although, mosquito-borne disease causing viruses were not identified properly, more detailed surveillance and investigation of both the host and viruses are essential to understand the prevalence, evolutionary relationship and genetic characteristic with other species.

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Resistance of field-collected populations of Culex pipiens pallens (Diptera: Culicidae) to insecticides in the Republic of Korea

Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology ◽

10.1016/j.aspen.2011.07.009 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 1-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

E-Hyun Shin ◽

Nam-Jin Kim ◽

Hyun Kyung Kim ◽

Chan Park ◽

Dong-Kyu Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Culex Pipiens ◽

Republic Of Korea ◽

Culex Pipiens Pallens ◽

The Republic ◽

Pipiens Pallens

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German Culex pipiens biotype molestus and Culex torrentium are vector-competent for Usutu virus

Parasites & Vectors ◽

10.1186/s13071-020-04532-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cora M. Holicki ◽

Dorothee E. Scheuch ◽

Ute Ziegler ◽

Julia Lettow ◽

Helge Kampen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Culex Pipiens ◽

Vector Competence ◽

Mosquito Species ◽

Northern Europe ◽

Tropical Species ◽

Entomological Surveillance ◽

Usutu Virus ◽

Bird Populations ◽

Surveillance Programs ◽

The Republic

Abstract Background Usutu virus (USUV) is a rapidly spreading zoonotic arbovirus (arthropod-borne virus) and a considerable threat to the global avifauna and in isolated cases to human health. It is maintained in an enzootic cycle involving ornithophilic mosquitoes as vectors and birds as reservoir hosts. Despite massive die-offs in wild bird populations and the detection of severe neurological symptoms in infected humans, little is known about which mosquito species are involved in the propagation of USUV. Methods In the present study, the vector competence of a German (i.e. “Central European”) and a Serbian (i.e. “Southern European”) Culex pipiens biotype molestus laboratory colony was experimentally evaluated. For comparative purposes, Culex torrentium, a frequent species in Northern Europe, and Aedes aegypti, a primarily tropical species, were also tested. Adult female mosquitoes were exposed to bovine blood spiked with USUV Africa 2 and subsequently incubated at 25 °C. After 2 to 3 weeks saliva was collected from each individual mosquito to assess the ability of a mosquito species to transmit USUV. Results Culex pipiens biotype molestus mosquitoes originating from Germany and the Republic of Serbia and Cx. torrentium mosquitoes from Germany proved competent for USUV, as indicated by harboring viable virus in their saliva 21 days post infection. By contrast, Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were relatively refractory to an USUV infection, exhibiting low infection rates and lacking virus in their saliva. Conclusions Consistent with the high prevalences and abundances of Cx. pipiens biotype molestus and Cx. torrentium in Central and Northern Europe, these two species have most likely played a historic role in the spread, maintenance, and introduction of USUV into Germany. Identification of the key USUV vectors enables the establishment and implementation of rigorous entomological surveillance programs and the development of effective, evidence-based vector control interventions.

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