Endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria are potent modulators of pathogen infection and transmission in multiple naturally and artificially infected insect species, including important vectors of human pathogens. Anopheles mosquitoes are naturally uninfected with Wolbachia, and stable artificial infections have not yet succeeded in this genus. Recent techniques have enabled establishment of somatic Wo...

background: the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases and the resistance of mosquitoes to conventional pesticides have recently caused a panic to the authorities in the endemic countries. this study was conducted to identify native larvicidal biopesticides against culex pipiens for utilization in the battle against mosquito-borne diseases. methods: larvicidal activities of new indigenous bacillu...

Apicomplexan parasites critically depend on a unique form of gliding motility to colonize their hosts and to invade cells. Gliding requires different stage and species-specific transmembrane adhesins, which interact with an intracellular motor complex shared across parasite stages and species. How gliding is regulated by extracellular factors and intracellular signalling mechanisms is largely u...

Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites that develop and mature inside an Anopheles mosquito initiate a malaria infection in humans. Here we report the first proteomic comparison of different parasite stages from the mosquito -- early and late oocysts containing midgut sporozoites, and the mature, infectious salivary gland sporozoites. Despite the morphological similarity between midgut and salivary ...

BACKGROUND Dengue virus genotypes of Southeast Asian origin have been associated with higher virulence and transmission compared to other genotypes of serotype 2 (DEN-2). We tested the hypothesis that genetic differences in dengue viruses may result in differential binding to the midgut of the primary vector, Aedes aegypti, resulting in increased transmission or vectorial capacity. METHODOLOG...

The midguts and associated muscle fibers of A. quadrimaculatus were dissected out in saline solution and immediately fixed in a solution of 1 % osmium tetroxide in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.2, for 5 min at room temperature. The specimens were subsequently dehydrated in ethyl alcohol for 2 hr and embedded in Epon 812 (Luft, 1961). Sections were cut on an LKB ultra microtome with gla...

Membrane transport in insect epithelia appears to be energized through proton-motive force generated by the vacuolar type proton ATPase (V-ATPase). However, secondary transport mechanisms that are coupled to V-ATPase activity have not been fully elucidated. Following a blood meal, the female mosquito regulates fluid and ion homeostasis through a series of characteristic behaviors that require b...

The study of mosquitoes and analysis of their behavior are of crucial importance in the on-going efforts to control the alarming increase in mosquito-borne diseases. Furthermore, a non-destructive and real-time imaging technique to study the anatomical features of mosquito specimens can greatly aid the study of mosquitoes. In this study, we demonstrate the three-dimensional imaging capabilities...

BACKGROUND Aedes aegypti is the main mosquito vector of the four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV). Previous population genetic and vector competence studies have demonstrated substantial genetic structure and major differences in the ability to transmit dengue viruses in Ae. aegypti populations in Mexico. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Population genetic studies revealed that the intersection...

The mosquito's innate immune system controls both Plasmodium and bacterial infections. We investigated the competitiveness of mosquitoes genetically modified to alter expression of their own anti-Plasmodium immune genes in a mixed-cage population with wild-type mosquitoes. We observed that genetically modified mosquitoes with increased immune activity in the midgut tissue did not have an observ...