Histological and Histochemical Characterization of the Midgut of Healthy Aedes aegypti Larvae
A. B. de Lemos *
UFRGS - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Sarmento Leite, 500 - Bairro Farroupilha, CEP 90050-170, Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil.
F. C. Adam
UFRGS - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Sarmento Leite, 500 - Bairro Farroupilha, CEP 90050-170, Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil.
K. R. S. de Moura
UFSC - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rua Eng. Agronômico Andrei Cristian Ferreira, s/n – Bairro Trindade, CEP 88040-900, Florianópolis/SC, Brazil.
L. B. de Moraes
IPVDF - Instituto de Pesquisas Veterinárias Desidério Finamor, Estrada Do Conde, 6000 – Bairro Sans Souci, CEP 92990-000, Eldorado do Sul/RS, Brazil.
O. S. da Silva
UFRGS - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Sarmento Leite, 500 - Bairro Farroupilha, CEP 90050-170, Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aedes aegypti (Diptera, Culicidae) is the predominant mosquito vector of several arboviruses such as dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya and zika. The larval stage is the major period of feeding and growth of these insects. Many of the products tested for Ae. aegypti control are ingested by the larvae in their natural environment or under laboratory conditions. In some situations, the identification of tissue lesions caused by the ingestion of such products serves as the primary way to understand their mechanism of action and confirm their effectiveness. Therefore, we aimed to conduct studies on the histological and histochemical characteristics of Ae. aegypti larvae in order to contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenicity caused by chemical or biological products for larval control. Therefore, we characterized tissues in the midgut of healthy Ae. aegypti larvae and present high quality images. These images are intended for comparison with results of morphohistochemical studies testing the effect of control substances in mosquito larvae.
Keywords: Aedes aegypti, midgut, histology, histochemistry.