Comparison of malaria parasite gametocyte activating factor in the salivary glands of five species of mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae).

Capa:Comparison of malaria parasite gametocyte activating factor in the salivary glands of five species of mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae).

Autor(es): Wang, Jichun; Hirai, Makoto; Yoshida, Shigeto; Arai, Meiji; Ishii, Akira; Matsuoka, Hiroyuki


Resumo: Gametocytes of malaria parasite undergo gamete formation in the mosquito midgut within minutes after ingestion of an infected blood meal. Male gametogenesis (exflagellation) of Plasmodium berghei, a rodent malaria parasite, can be induced in vitro by the combination of a reduction in temperature (from 37-39degreeC in the rodent host to 21degreeC) and a simultaneous pH rise (from 7.3 in mouse blood to 8.0). We reported previously that the salivary gland (SG) of Anopheles stephensi (Liston) highly contained a gametocyte activating factor (GAF), which induced exflagellation in P. berghei at the non-permissive pH. In the present study we compared exflagellation inducing activity (EIA) in the SGs of five mosquito species, Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus), Ae. albopictus (Skuse), An. omorii (Sakakibara), An. stephensi and Culex pipiens pallens (Coquillett). As a result, all the mosquito species examined contained GAF in the SGs. An. omorii and An. stephensi consumed more GAF than Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus and Cx. p. pallens during blood feeding, suggesting that more GAF might be introduced into the midgut of Anopheles mosquitoes. This would be one reason why only Anopheles mosquitoes can transmit mammalian malaria.


Imprenta: Medical Entomology and Zoology, v. 53, n. 3, p. 177-182, 2002


Identificador do objeto digital: 10.7601/mez.53.177


Descritores: Aedes aegypti - Public health


Data de publicação: 2002