Comparative Physiology of Osmoregulation in Mosquitoes

蚊子渗透调节的比较生理学

• 批准号: 8818728
• 负责人: Timothy Bradley
• 金额: $ 11.38万
• 依托单位: University of California-Irvine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1989
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1989-03-01 至 1991-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8818728&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Comparative; Physiology; Osmoregulation; Mosquitoes

Due to their bloodsucking habits, mosquitoes are disturbing annoyances to the public, as well as being the vectors of many serious diseases. Many of the species of mosquitoes which pose a health hazard in the United States breed in salt water. On the East Coast, saltwater mosquitoes occur in huge numbers in coastal marshes and their control is essential for the use and enjoyment of beaches and coastal waterways. In the West, salt-tolerant mosquitoes are the vectors of very serious diseases such as viral encephalitis and heartworm. The larvae of mosquitoes are aquatic. Dr. Bradley is investigating mechanisms used by salt-tolerant mosquitoes to survive in this harsh aquatic habitat. A better understanding of the mechanisms used by these mosquitoes may enable us to circumvent these mechanisms and/or predict the location of mosquitoes populations, thereby reducing these populations and directing control procedures to the sites where intervention is required. This proposal describe investigations into the mechanisms of osmoregulation in mosquito larvae. "Brackish-water" mosquito larvae are euryhaline osmoconformers by means of the accumulation of organic osmolytes in the hemolymph. Using the brackish-water species Culex tarsalis, Dr. Bradley will examine a) the time course and pattern of osmolyte regulation during changes in salinity, b) the role of the excretory system in eliminating or retaining osmolytes of low molecular weight and c) the osmolytes used intracellularly for volume and osmotic regulation. Phylogenetic evidence indicates that mechanisms associated with the brackish-water pattern of osmoregulation arose independently in two genera of mosquitoes. The Principal Investigator will compare the mechanisms employed by these independent lineages. The studies are designed to increase our understanding of the mechanisms of osmoregulation in a taxonomically restricted group of insects inhabiting a diverse range of osmoregulatory niches.

由于其吸血习性，蚊子给公众带来了烦恼，同时也是许多严重疾病的传播媒介。 在美国，许多对健康构成危害的蚊子都是在盐水中繁殖的。 在东海岸，沿海沼泽地大量出现咸水蚊子，控制它们对于海滩和沿海水道的使用和享受至关重要。 在西方，耐盐蚊子是病毒性脑炎和心丝虫等非常严重疾病的传播媒介。 蚊子的幼虫是水生的。 布拉德利博士正在研究耐盐蚊子在这种恶劣的水生栖息地中生存的机制。 更好地了解这些蚊子使用的机制可能使我们能够规避这些机制和/或预测蚊子种群的位置，从而减少这些种群并将控制程序引导到需要干预的地点。 该提案描述了对蚊子幼虫渗透调节机制的研究。 “咸水”蚊子幼虫通过在血淋巴中积累有机渗透物质而成为广盐渗透压适应者。 Bradley 博士将使用咸水物种跗库蚊 (Culex tarsalis) 来研究 a) 盐度变化过程中渗透调节剂的时间过程和模式，b) 排泄系统在消除或保留低分子量渗透剂中的作用，以及 c) 细胞内用于体积和渗透调节的渗透剂。 系统发育证据表明，与渗透调节的咸水模式相关的机制在两个属的蚊子中独立出现。 首席研究员将比较这些独立谱系所采用的机制。 这些研究旨在加深我们对栖息在不同渗透调节生态位的分类学限制昆虫类群的渗透调节机制的理解。