An Improved Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Blood Meals

The analysis of vertebrate blood meals serves as an integral component of vector incrimination studies where feeding preferences and host associations influence vector-borne disease transmission. Diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques have been widely used to determine host asso...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical entomology 2020-03, Vol.57 (2), p.557
Main Authors: Field, Eleanor N, Gehrke, Ella J, Ruden, Rachel M, Adelman, James S, Smith, Ryan C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Bird populations
Cytochrome b
Disease transmission
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Polymerase chain reaction
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Summary:The analysis of vertebrate blood meals serves as an integral component of vector incrimination studies where feeding preferences and host associations influence vector-borne disease transmission. Diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques have been widely used to determine host associations, yet applications for Culex (Diptera: Culicidae), which feed primarily on bird populations, have been limited by multistep PCR techniques that approach each potential host species singly. As a result, we have developed a multiplexed primer set targeting mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences that can distinguish human, bird, and mammalian host blood meals in a single PCR reaction, an improvement over previous analyses relying on single primers or other multiplex primer approaches through the inclusion of avian primers. To validate this new methodology, we demonstrate its application on blood samples as well as field-collected Culex samples. Although designed for applications with mosquito vectors, this multiplex PCR assay is not mosquito-specific, and should serve as a valuable tool for identifying the blood meals of other blood-feeding arthropods, contributing greatly to the study of vector-borne disease. Key words: blood meal identification, PCR, vector-borne disease transmission, feeding behavoirs
ISSN:0022-2585
DOI:10.1093/jme/tjz182