Characterization of the adult Aedes aegypti early midgut peritrophic matrix proteome using LC-MS.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the principal vector of arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika virus. These arboviruses are transmitted during adult female mosquito bloodfeeding. While these viruses must transverse the midgut to replicate, the blood meal must also reach the midgut to be digested, absorbed, or excreted, as aggregation of blood meal metabolites can be toxic to the female mosquito midgut.

Acute Toxicity of Permethrin, Deltamethrin, and Etofenprox to the Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee.

Current regulatory requirements for insecticide toxicity to nontarget insects focus on the honey bee, Apis mellifera (L.; Hymenoptera: Apidae), but this species cannot represent all insect pollinator species in terms of response to insecticides. Therefore, we characterized the toxicity of pyrethroid insecticides used for adult mosquito management (permethrin, deltamethrin, and etofenprox) on a nontarget insect, the adult alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata (F.

Ironing out the Details: Exploring the Role of Iron and Heme in Blood-Sucking Arthropods.

Heme and iron are essential molecules for many physiological processes and yet have the ability to cause oxidative damage such as lipid peroxidation, protein degradation, and ultimately cell death if not controlled. Blood-sucking arthropods have evolved diverse methods to protect themselves against iron/heme-related damage, as the act of bloodfeeding itself is high risk, high reward process. Protective mechanisms in medically important arthropods include the midgut peritrophic matrix in mosquitoes, heme aggregation into the crystalline structure hemozoin in kissing bugs and hemosomes in ticks.

The Influence of Ambient Temperature on the Susceptibility of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) to the Pyrethroid Insecticide Permethrin.

Insecticides are the most common strategy used for the management of mosquitoes. Changes in ambient temperature can alter the toxicity of insecticides to ectothermic organisms. Studies show organophosphate insecticides exhibit a positive correlation between ambient temperature and mortality for many insect species, and carbamate insecticides exhibit a slightly negative correlation between ambient temperature and mortality.