Biting midges of the genus Culicoides, although tiny, are among the most significant vectors of viruses affecting wildlife, livestock, and humans worldwide. Culicoides paraensis is considered the primary vector of Oropouche virus (OROV), an emerging human pathogen historically confined to the Amazon Basin that has recently sickened thousands during a years-long outbreak in the American tropics. As C. paraensis has a wide native range throughout both the Neotropics and Nearctic, including much of the eastern United States, it is of utmost importance to identify and develop novel tools to control populations ahead of any potential broader introduction of OROV. Chemical insecticides alone can temporarily reduce Culicoides abundance, however, may not be enough to effectively and permanently reduce pathogen transmission, while the continued use and overuse of such chemicals often results in resistance and/or non-target mortality. This has prompted research into alternative techniques including “molecular insecticides” that utilize genomic information of a pest or vector to design highly targeted approaches that ultimately work at the RNA, DNA or protein level to elicit developmental arrest, reduced reproduction, and/or death. In the present study, we sequence and assemble a draft genome sequence and predicted proteome of Culicoides paraensis to provide the first reference genome for this species. This will enable future genetic analyses for the design and development of non-traditional control management strategies for this broadly distributed vector.
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