Bacterial Communities of House Flies from Beef and Dairy Cattle Operations are Diverse and Contain Pathogens of Medical and Veterinary Importance.

Adult house flies (Musca domestica L.) are important reservoirs and mechanical vectors of bacteria in livestock operations. House fly bacterial communities are influenced by their local environment, yet a comprehensive understanding of bacterial diversity, pathogen prevalence, and bacterial source is not fully understood.

Bacterial Communities of House Flies from Dairy Farms Highlight Their Role as Reservoirs, Disseminators, and Sentinels of Microbial Threats to Human and Animal Health.

Adult house flies ( L.) inhabiting dairy farms not only are nuisance pests but also harbor and disseminate bacteria. We examined the bacterial community composition, diversity, environmental sources, and prevalence in individual adult female house flies and cattle manure samples collected monthly from Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee dairy farms between May and August 2021.

Expression of defensin genes across house fly () life history gives insight into immune system subfunctionalization.

Animals encounter diverse microbial communities throughout their lifetime, which exert varying selection pressures. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which lyse or inhibit microbial growth, are a first line of defense against some of these microbes. Here we examine how developmental variation in microbial exposure has affected the evolution of expression and amino acid sequences of Defensins (an ancient class of AMPs) in the house fly ().

Defensins of the Stable Fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) have Developmental-Specific Regulation and Evolve at Different Rates.

Organisms produce antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) either in response to infection (induced) or continuously (constitutively) to combat microbes encountered during normal trophic activities and/or through pathogenic infections. The expression of AMPs is tightly regulated, often with specificity to particular tissues or developmental stages. As a result, AMPs face varying selective pressures based on the microbes the organism's tissue or developmental stage encounters.

Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Elicits Early Transcriptome Response in Cells.

Viruses that are transmitted by arthropods, or arboviruses, have evolved to successfully navigate both the invertebrate and vertebrate hosts, including their immune systems. Biting midges transmit several arboviruses including vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). To study the interaction between VSV and midges, we characterized the transcriptomic responses of VSV-infected and mock-infected cells at 1, 8, 24, and 96 h post inoculation (HPI).

Evaluation of potential reference genes in the biting midge Culicoides sonorensis for real-time quantitative PCR analyses.

Studies examining differentially expressed genes and gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) require a set of stably expressed reference genes for accurate normalization. The biting midge Culicoides sonorensis is an important vector of livestock pathogens and is often used as a model species for biting midge research. Here, we examine the stable expression of six candidate reference genes in C.

Bacterial communities and prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes carried within house flies (Diptera: Muscidae) associated with beef and dairy cattle farms.

House flies (Musca domestica Linnaeus) are vectors of human and animal pathogens at livestock operations. Microbial communities in flies are acquired from, and correlate with, their local environment. However, variation among microbial communities carried by flies from farms in different geographical areas is not well understood.

House Flies Are Underappreciated Yet Important Reservoirs and Vectors of Microbial Threats to Animal and Human Health.

House flies are well recognized as filth-associated organisms and public nuisances. House flies create sanitation issues when they bridge the gap between microbe-rich breeding environments and animal/human habitations. Numerous scientific surveys have demonstrated that house flies harbor bacterial pathogens that pose a threat to humans and animals.

Sex-specific Feeding Behavior of Adult House Flies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae).

House flies, Musca domestica L., (Diptera: Muscidae) mechanically vector diverse disease-causing microorganisms while foraging for food in agricultural and urban habitats. Although flies are diverse feeders, nutrient composition of food is important for both fly longevity and reproduction, especially for anautogenous females who require protein for egg production.

Constitutively-expressed and induced immune effectors in the house fly (Musca domestica) and the transcription factors that may regulate them.

Insects possess both infection-induced and constitutively expressed innate immune defences. Some effectors, such as lysozymes and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), are constitutively expressed in flies, but expression patterns vary across tissues and species. The house fly (Musca domestica L.

Effects of habitat and sampling time on bacterial community composition and diversity in the gut of the female house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus (Diptera: Muscidae).

Adult house flies feed and breed in a variety of microbe-rich habitats and serve as vectors for human and animal pathogens. To better understand their role in harbouring and disseminating bacteria, we characterized the composition and diversity of bacterial communities in the gut of female house flies collected from three different habitats in Kansas: agricultural (dairy farm), urban (business area dumpsters) and mixed (business located between residential and animal agriculture areas). Bacterial community composition and diversity were influenced more by the house flies' habitat than by sampling time.

House fly larval grazing alters dairy cattle manure microbial communities.

Background: House fly larvae (Musca domestica L.) require a live microbial community to successfully develop. Cattle manure is rich in organic matter and microorganisms, comprising a suitable substrate for larvae who feed on both the decomposing manure and the prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes therein.

Mechanical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by house flies.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a recently emerged coronavirus that is the causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 in humans is characterized by a wide range of symptoms that range from asymptomatic to mild or severe illness including death. SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and is transmitted via the oral-nasal route through droplets and aerosols, or through contact with contaminated fomites.

The genome of the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, reveals potential mechanisms underlying reproduction, host interactions, and novel targets for pest control.

Background: The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, is a major blood-feeding pest of livestock that has near worldwide distribution, causing an annual cost of over $2 billion for control and product loss in the USA alone. Control of these flies has been limited to increased sanitary management practices and insecticide application for suppressing larval stages. Few genetic and molecular resources are available to help in developing novel methods for controlling stable flies.

Cantaloupe Facilitates Typhimurium Survival Within and Transmission Among Adult House Flies ( L.).

serovar Typhimurium is a pathogen harbored by livestock and shed in their feces, which serves as an acquisition source for adult house flies. This study used a green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing strain of Typhimurium to assess its acquisition by and survival within house flies, and transmission from and between flies in the presence or absence of cantaloupe. Female house flies were exposed to manure inoculated with either sterile phosphate-buffered saline or GFP- Typhimurium for 12 h, then used in four experiments each performed over 24 h.

Environmental and Sex Effects on Bacterial Carriage by Adult House Flies ( L.).

Adult house flies frequent microbe-rich sites such as urban dumpsters and animal facilities, and encounter and ingest bacteria during feeding and reproductive activities. Due to unique nutritional and reproductive needs, male and female flies demonstrate different interactions with microbe-rich substrates and therefore dissemination potential. We investigated culturable aerobic bacteria and coliform abundance in male and female flies (n = 107) collected from urban (restaurant dumpsters) and agricultural (dairy farm) sites.

House Flies () Pose a Risk of Carriage and Transmission of Bacterial Pathogens Associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD).

House flies are important nuisance pests in a variety of confined livestock operations. More importantly, house flies are known mechanical vectors of numerous animal and human pathogens. Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is an economically important, complex illness of cattle associated with several bacteria and viruses The role of flies in the ecology and transmission of bacterial pathogens associated with BRD is not understood.

Transcriptome Response of Female Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to Early Infection with Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (EHDV-2).

Female biting midges are vectors of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), which causes morbidity and mortality in wild and domesticated ruminants. The aims in this study were to identify key changes in female midge transcriptome profiles occurring during early infection with EHDV-2. Midges were fed either negative control bloodmeals or bloodmeals containing EHDV-2 and transcriptomes were acquired at 36 h through deep sequencing.

The genome of the biting midge Culicoides sonorensis and gene expression analyses of vector competence for bluetongue virus.

Background: The new genomic technologies have provided novel insights into the genetics of interactions between vectors, viruses and hosts, which are leading to advances in the control of arboviruses of medical importance. However, the development of tools and resources available for vectors of non-zoonotic arboviruses remains neglected. Biting midges of the genus Culicoides transmit some of the most important arboviruses of wildlife and livestock worldwide, with a global impact on economic productivity, health and welfare.

Effects of Bacterial Dose and Fly Sex on Persistence and Excretion of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium From Adult House Flies (Musca domestica L.; Diptera: Muscidae).

Salmonella Typhimurium (Le Minor and Popoff 1987; Enterobacteriales: Enterobacteriaceae) is a pathogen that causes gastroenteritis in humans and can be harbored by house flies. Factors influencing excretion of S. Typhimurium from infected flies have not been elucidated but are essential for assessing transmission potential.

Dynamics of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus infection within the vector, Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

Culicoides sonorensis biting midges are confirmed vectors of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), which causes mortality in white-tailed deer and ruminant populations. Currently, of the seven EHDV serotypes, only 1, 2, and 6 are detected in the USA, and very few studies have focused on the infection time course of these serotypes within the midge. The objective of this current research was to characterize EHDV-2 infection within the midge by measuring infection prevalence, virus dissemination, and viral load over the course of infection.

Dose-Dependent Effects on Replication and Persistence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in House Flies (Diptera: Muscidae).

Adult house flies (Musca domestica L.) ingest variable numbers of bacteria when they encounter microbe-rich substrates. Bacterial abundance may affect replication within the fly gut, which subsequently impacts vector potential.