Anopheles mosquito midgut harbors a diverse group of endogenous bacteria that grow extensively after the blood feeding and help in food digestion and nutrition in many ways. Although, the growth of endogenous bacteria is regulated by various factors, however, the robust antibacterial immune reactions are generally suppressed in this body compartment by a heme peroxidase HPX15 crosslinked mucins...

BACKGROUND Attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB) sprayed onto vegetation has been successful in controlling Anopheles mosquitoes outdoors. Indoor application of ATSB has yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ATSB stations positioned indoors have the potential to kill host-seeking mosquitoes and constitute a new approach to control of mosquito-borne diseases. METH...

West Nile virus (WNV) has caused repeated large-scale human epidemics in North America since it was first detected in 1999 and is now the dominant vector-borne disease in this continent. Understanding the factors that determine the intensity of the spillover of this zoonotic pathogen from birds to humans (via mosquitoes) is a prerequisite for predicting and preventing human epidemics. We integr...

The feeding behavior of vectors influences the likelihood of pathogen invasion and the exposure of humans to vector-borne zoonotic pathogens. We used multilocus microsatellite genetic typing of an introduced mosquito vector and DNA sequencing of mosquito blood meals to determine the impact of hybrid ancestry on feeding behavior and the emergence of West Nile virus (WNV). The probability of ance...

Recently, articles and advertisements have appeared in newspapers and publications throughout the United States urging the public to erect birdhouses in order to establish colonies of Purple Martins (Progne subis). The publicity proclaims that a martin consumes 2,000 mosquitoes per day, and either states or implies that martins provide effective biological control of mosquitoes. This is somewha...

A phospholipase C activity specific for platelet-activating factor (PAF), named PAF phosphorylcholine hydrolase, was found in the salivary glands and saliva of the human-feeding mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus. The enzymatic activity was demonstrated by inhibition of PAF-induced platelet aggregation, and by identification of substrate consumption and production of diacyl glyceride by electrospr...

Changes in polypeptides pattern of haemolymph, midgut, ovary and salivary glands of female mosquito A. stephensi were studied when fed upon anti-mosquito haemolymph antibodies. The expression of almost all polypeptides was reduced in haemolymph and ovary of the immune fed mosquitoes as compared to control. However, there was no significant difference in case of midgut and salivary glands. Seven...

We conducted experiments to evaluate the effects of soluble components in senescent leaf material on the growth and development of the eastern tree hole mosquito, Aedes triseriatus (Say). Oak leaves that were either leached for three days to remove the labile nutrient fraction, or were not leached, served as basal nutrient inputs in each experiment.Mosquito performance in microcosms containing ...

The successful transmission of dengue virus from a human host to a mosquito vector requires a complex set of factors to align. It is becoming increasingly important to improve our understanding of the parameters that shape the human to mosquito component of the transmission cycle so that vaccines and therapeutic antivirals can be fully evaluated and epidemiological models refined. Here we descr...