title: Variation in morphology and morphometrics of eggs of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes from different ecological regions of India.
abstract: Variation in egg surface morphology and morphometrics of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes of the Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jamnagar, and Bathinda strains were correlated with geographical distribution in different ecological regions of India. We report the geographic variation in Cx. quinquefasciatus based on 44 attributes of micropylar and conical-shaped regions of eggs, including micropylar apparatus (corolla, disc, and mound), micropylar tubercles, and the exochorionic tubercle, pores, and network in anterior, middle, and posterior regions. No remarkable differences were observed in the surface morphology of eggs of these strains except the absence of small tubercles in the anterior and middle region of the JMN strain. However, a statistical analysis indicated significant morphometric variations in 66% of the attributes of the eggs. The cluster analysis of all egg attributes showed that the JD, BKN, and BTH strains are closer to each other than the JMN strain. The positive correlation (r = 0.95) also indicated an effect of geographical distribution on morphometry of various egg attributes of these strains. The present study suggests that ecological variation may have affected the morphometric attributes of the egg of four strains of Cx. quinquefasciatus from different geographical areas.
authors.affiliation: Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior 474002, India.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Suman
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Shrivastava
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Parashar
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pant
authors.forename: O P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Agrawal
authors.forename: Shri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prakash
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001699:Biometry; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003465:Culex / Q000166:cytology*; D003889:Desert Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D007194:India; D010063:Ovum / Q000166:cytology*; D012044:Regression Analysis