Mosquito host range and specificity of Edhazardia aedis (Microspora: Culicosporidae).
Edhazardia aedis was transmitted horizontally to its natural host, Aedes aegypti, and to 6 alternate hosts: Ae. albopictus, Ae. triseriatus, Ae. taeniorhynchus, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Orthopodomyia signifera and Toxorhynchites rutilus rutilus. The microsporidium produced both binucleate and uninucleate spores in all susceptible hosts. Transovarial transmission, however, was only successful in Ae. aegypti. Therefore, while E. aedis can infect a variety of mosquito species from diverse genera, it is specific for its natural host, Ae. aegypti. Five other mosquito species were not susceptible to E. aedis.
Becnel
J J
JJ
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Medical and Veterinary Entomology Research Laboratory, Gainesville, FL 32604.
Johnson
M A
MA
D000330:Aedes / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000469:parasitology; D003465:Culex / Q000469:parasitology; D009033:Culicidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D016816:Microsporida / Q000502:physiology*