The mosquito's body temperature increases dramatically when it takes a blood meal from a warm-blooded, vertebrate host. By using the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, we demonstrate that this boost in temperature following a blood meal prompts the synthesis of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70). This response, elicited by the temperature of the blood meal, is most robust in the mosquito's midgut...

Polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed to determine whether mosquito predators in wetland habitats feed on Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) larvae. Aquatic mosquito predators were collected from six wetlands near Lake Victoria in Mbita, Western Kenya. This study revealed that the whole positive rate of An. gambiae s.l. from 330 predators was 54.2%. The order of positive rate was th...

The insecticidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry toxins involves toxin stabilization, oligomerization, passage across the peritrophic membrane (PM), binding to midgut receptors and pore-formation. The residues Arg-158 and Tyr-170 have been shown to be crucial for the toxicity of Bt Cry4Ba. We characterized the biological function of these residues. In mosquito larvae, the mutants R1...

In the mosquito midgut, luminal pH regulation and cellular ion transport processes are important for the digestion of food and maintenance of cellular homeostasis. pH regulation in the mosquito gut is affected by the vectorial movement of the principal ions including bicarbonate/carbonate and protons. As in all metazoans, mosquitoes employ the product of aerobic metabolism carbon dioxide in its...

Dengue viruses (DENV) cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide and are transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Mosquitoes become infected after ingesting a viremic bloodmeal, and molecular mechanisms involved in bloodmeal digestion may affect the ability of DENV to infect the midgut. We used RNA interference (RNAi) to silence expression of four midgut serine proteases and assessed...

The mosquito Aedes taeniorhynchus is an important epidemic vector of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), but detailed studies of its infection are lacking. We compared infection by an epidemic VEEV strain to that by an enzootic strain using virus titrations, immunohistochemistry, and a virus expressing the green fluorescent protein. Ae. taeniorhynchus was more susceptible to the epidem...

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borneAlphavirus that causes fever (CHIKF) in humans. In 1952, the CHIKV was found East Africa sylvatic and urban cycle between Aedes mosquitoes, human nonhuman primates tropical regions. Since 2004, CHIKF has spread rapidly Asia, Africa, Europe, Americas. Both aegypti albopictus are known to be arboviral mosquito vectors of CHIKV. Ae. mostly within tropic...

BACKGROUND The malaria parasite Plasmodium must complete a complex developmental life cycle within Anopheles mosquitoes before it can be transmitted into the human host. One day after mosquito infection, motile ookinetes traverse the midgut epithelium and, after exiting to its basal site facing the hemolymph, develop into oocysts. Previously, we have identified hemolymph factors that can antago...

Malaria is an important global public health challenge, and is transmitted by anopheline mosquitoes during blood feeding. Mosquito vector control is one of the most effective methods to control malaria, and population replacement with genetically engineered mosquitoes to block its transmission is expected to become a new vector control strategy. The salivary glands are an effective target tissu...