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19 July 2019 Microanatomy of the American Malaria Vector Anopheles aquasalis (Diptera: Culicidae: Anophelinae) Midgut: Ultrastructural and Histochemical Observations
Djane C. Baia-da-Silva, Alessandra S. Orfanó, Rafael Nacif-Pimenta, Fabricio F. de Melo, Maria G. V. B. Guerra, Marcus V. G. Lacerda, Wuelton M. Monteiro, Paulo F. P. Pimenta
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Abstract

The mosquito gut is divided into foregut, midgut, and hindgut. The midgut functions in storage and digestion of the bloodmeal. This study used light, scanning (SEM), and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy to analyze in detail the microanatomy and morphology of the midgut of nonblood-fed Anopheles aquasalis females. The midgut epithelium is a monolayer of columnar epithelial cells that is composed of two populations: microvillar epithelial cells and basal cells. The microvillar epithelial cells can be further subdivided into light and dark cells, based on their affinities to toluidine blue and their electron density. FITC-labeling of the anterior midgut and posterior midgut with lectins resulted in different fluorescence intensities, indicating differences in carbohydrate residues. SEM revealed a complex muscle network composed of circular and longitudinal fibers that surround the entire midgut. In summary, the use of a diverse set of morphological methods revealed the general microanatomy of the midgut and associated tissues of An. aquasalis, which is a major vector of Plasmodium spp. (Haemosporida: Plasmodiidae) in America.

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
Djane C. Baia-da-Silva, Alessandra S. Orfanó, Rafael Nacif-Pimenta, Fabricio F. de Melo, Maria G. V. B. Guerra, Marcus V. G. Lacerda, Wuelton M. Monteiro, and Paulo F. P. Pimenta "Microanatomy of the American Malaria Vector Anopheles aquasalis (Diptera: Culicidae: Anophelinae) Midgut: Ultrastructural and Histochemical Observations," Journal of Medical Entomology 56(6), 1636-1649, (19 July 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjz114
Received: 23 November 2018; Accepted: 14 June 2019; Published: 19 July 2019
KEYWORDS
Anopheles aquasalis
fluorescent lectin labeling
midgut
ultrastructure
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