Microorganism-Based Larval Diets Affect Mosquito Development, Size and Nutritional Reserves in the Yellow Fever Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae).

Background: Mosquito larvae feed on organic detritus from the environment, particularly microorganisms comprising bacteria, protozoa, and algae as well as crustaceans, plant debris, and insect exuviae. Little attention has been paid to nutritional studies in larvae.

Objectives: We investigated the effects of yeast, bacteria and microalgae diets on larval development, pupation time, adult size, emergence, survivorship, lifespan, and wing morphology.

Biochemical and Functional Characterization of Glycoside Hydrolase Family 16 Genes in Larvae: Identification of the Major Digestive β-1,3-Glucanase.

Insect β-1,3-glucanases belong to Glycoside Hydrolase Family 16 (GHF16) and are involved in digestion of detritus and plant hemicellulose. In this work, we investigated the role of GHF16 genes in larvae, due to their detritivore diet. genome has six genes belonging to GHF16 (Aae GH16.

Digestion of Yeasts and Beta-1,3-Glucanases in Mosquito Larvae: Physiological and Biochemical Considerations.

Aedes aegypti larvae ingest several kinds of microorganisms. In spite of studies regarding mosquito digestion, little is known about the nutritional utilization of ingested cells by larvae. We investigated the effects of using yeasts as the sole nutrient source for A.