Identification of mosquito blood meals by cellulose acetate and starch gel electrophoresis.
Cellulose acetate (CAE) and starch gel electrophoresis (SGE) were examined for their ability to identify species hemoglobins in mosquito blood meals. Blood meals analyzed serologically by the precipitin (PT) and passive hemagglutination inhibition (PHI) techniques served as standards for comparison. CAE, could not differentiate blood meals from divergent vertebrate hosts (man, rabbits, and mice) solely on the basis of the migratory properties of their respective hemoglobins. However, all could be differentiated when the migratory properties of both their hemoglobins and serum albumins were considered. CAE, like PT, was consistently able to identify blood meals for 18--24 hr post-ingestion. In contrast, PHI was able to identify blood meals for up to 48 hr post-feeding. SGE lacked the sensitivity of CAE, PHI and PT. SGE could only differentiate blood meals for 5--7 hr after ingestion. These results indicate that CAE has potential as a rapid technique for determining the origin of blood meals ingested by arthropod disease vectors.
D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D004586:Electrophoresis; D004588:Electrophoresis, Cellulose Acetate; D004592:Electrophoresis, Starch Gel; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D011817:Rabbits; D013045:Species Specificity
D006454:Hemoglobins