Comperative studies with Culex pipiens egg rafts. Immunogenetic,electrophoretic and enzymatic analysis of unfertilized,compatible and incompatible fertilized eggs

Summary By applying immunologic, electrophoretic and enzymatic methods, extracts of different raft types of Culex pipiens were analysed. Rafts of the crosses Pa x Pa and Ha x Ha contained four common antigens, while unfertilized rafts of Pa and Ha (no antisera were prepared against them) and rafts of the crosses Og x Og, Og x Pa, and Pa x Og shared three common antigens with the remaining raft extracts. Disk-electrophoresis of raft extracts in acrylamide gel resulted in different electropherograms. Ten protein bands were common to all these raft types. The unfertilized rafts of Pa and Ha yielded three more protein bands, the crosses Pa x Ha and Ha x Pa one more, the crosses Og x Og and Pa x Og three more, and Og x Pa two more. Many enzymes were demonstrated in the raft extracts after they were separated in acrylamide gel and incubated with the corresponding substrate solutions. All the raft types possessed one enzyme type for glutaminate-, lactate-, glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase and catalase. Malate-dehydrogenase and leucine aminopeptidase occurred in each raft type as two isoenzymes. Alkaline phosphatase was observed as a single enzyme, but was lacking in rafts of the crosses Pa X Pa and Ha X Ha. While rafts of the crosses Og x Og and Og x Pa possessed two acid phosphatases, three could be demonstrated for the remaining raft types. Up to eight esterases appeared; rafts of the crosses Og x Og and Og x Pa possessed seven such activities. The results obtained by the Ouchterlony test, disk-electrophoresis and the histochemical enzyme tests are discussed in context and checked according to the phenomenon of incompatibility.     

库蚊羧酸酯酶研究进展

在昆虫对有机磷杀虫剂抗性的研究中 ,羧酸酯酶 (ｃａｒｂｏｘｙｌｅｓｔｅｒａｓｅｓ)的过量产生是库蚊对有机磷杀虫剂 (ＯＰ)产生抗性的主要机制。羧酸酯酶能够与进入昆虫体内的有机磷杀虫剂快速结合 ,将杀虫剂在到达靶标作用位点前阻隔或降解 ,使其无法发挥原有的杀伤效用。1 .羧酸酯酶的命名库蚊中羧酸酯酶的命名一般根据其水解α 和 β 乙酸萘酯的先后顺序和电泳迁移率不同而定 ;在淀粉电泳中 ,当等量α 乙酸萘酯(α ＮＡ)和 β 乙酸萘酯 (β ＮＡ)同时存在时 ,优先水解α ＮＡ呈蓝色的为酯酶Ａ ,优先水解 β ＮＡ呈红色的为酯酶Ｂ[1] …     

Many compatible Wolbachia strains coexist within natural populations of Culex pipiens mosquito

Maternally inherited Wolbachia often manipulate the reproduction of arthropods to promote their transmission. In most species, Wolbachia exert a form of conditional sterility termed cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), characterized by the death of embryos produced by the mating between individuals with incompatible Wolbachia infections. From a theoretical perspective, no stable coexistence of incompatible Wolbachia infections is expected within host populations and CI should induce the invasion of one strain or of a set of compatible strains. In this study, we investigated this prediction on CI dynamics in natural populations of the common house mosquito Culex pipiens. We surveyed the Wolbachia diversity and the expression of CI in breeding sites of the south of France between 1990 and 2005. We found that geographically close C. pipiens populations harbor considerable Wolbachia diversity, which is stably maintained over 15 years. We also observed a very low frequency of infertile clutches within each sampled site. Meanwhile, mating choice experiments conducted in laboratory conditions showed that assortative mating does not occur. Overall, this suggests that a large set of compatible Wolbachia strains are always locally dominant within mosquito populations thus, fitting with the theoretical expectations on CI dynamics.     

Heterosis associated with DOPA-oxidase dimorphism in Culex pipiens

1. Isozyme phenotypes were used to deduce genotypes at a dimorphic DOPA-oxidase locus in a laboratory population of Culex pipiens. The frequencies of homozygotes and heterozygotes at the inception and termination of laboratory colonization were compared. 2. Co-dominant alleles F and S condition the fast and slow isozymes (allozymes) respectively at this enzyme locus. 3. The expected and observed ratios of heterozygotes (FS) to homozygotes (FF and SS) were 50:50 and 64:36 respectively for 50 pairs of parents. 4. The observed and statistically significant excess of heterozygotes is taken as evidence of heterosis and the heterotic maintenance of enzyme dimorphism at this locus.     

Viability of Culex pipiens pipiens eggs affected by nutrition and aposymbiosis

Raisins were a better source of carbohydrate than sucrose for reproduction by autogenous Culex pipiens. A blood meal increased the number of eggs per raft from 49 autogenously to 114. Eggs of aposymbiotic females produced autogenously did not hatch, but 34% of the eggs were viable if the mosquitoes fed on chickens. With repeated blood meals the number of eggs per raft and the rate of embryonation and hatching declined in each successive gonotrophic cycle. In about $\text{1}\text{4}$ of the unhatched eggs of normal females there were no fully developed embryos, while many more of the unhatched eggs of aposymbiotic females contained no evidence of embryonic development. After the fifth blood meal, neither normal nor aposymbiotic insects oviposited. The ovaries of the nulliparous females contained approximately 10% of the potential number of mature terminal oocytes. Proximally in the ovarioles there were dilatations and coiled tracheoles indicating egg resorption. There were fewer parous follicles in aposymbiotic than in normal females. Larval rearing water, i.e., infusion in which larvae had been reared, was more attractive than fresh infusion for oviposition by normal, autogenous mosquitoes. The degree of embryonation of the eggs was lower and the hatching success rate was poorer in fresh infusion than in larval rearing water.     

Effect of photoperiod and temperature on ovarian development in Culex pipiens pipiens

Culex pipiens pipiens is one member of the C. pipiens complex which diapauses as an adult. Experiments show that photoperiod and temperature both affect the development of the ovarian follicles. Females reared at a 15 hr photophase and 22°C show an increase in follicle size over the first 8 days after emergence. Females reared at 10 hr and 22°C do not show an increase in follicle size. Follicle size does not gradually increase as photophase is lengthened. Rather, at photophases between 9 and 12 hr the follicles remain small and at photophases of 13 hr or more, the increase is seen. An increase in temperature tends to increase follicle size regardless of the photophase. However, a strong interaction between photophase and temperature is evident.No evidence exists for a single ‘critical stage’. Instead, the final follicle size is dependent, in a complex manner, upon the photophase experienced by all the stages. The final size is not a result of a cumulative effect.Photoperiod, independent of temperature, shows a marked effect on blood feeding. Females reared at 15 hr feed much more readily than those reared at 10 hr. Those 10 hr females that feed show no signs of gonotrophic dissociation.     

Bait-fed adult Culex pipiens carry the larvicide Bacillus sphaericus to the larval habitat

Sugar meals of plant origin are a basic component of mosquito diet. We show that sugar baits have potential as vehicles for control agents. When Culex pipiens L. resting-sites were sprayed with sucrose solution, with or without incorporation of the larval toxicant Bacillus sphaericus Neide, 47% of female mosquitoes fed in situ. Dispersing B. sphaericus-carrier mosquitoes caused larval mortality in breeding-sites 60-100 m from the sprayed resting-sites. The effect was not seen where no adults rested in sparse vegetation above larval habitats. This approach may be useful for the application of biological control agents against mosquitoes in biotopes where the adults and larvae are juxtaposed.