Full Length Research Paper
Abstract
The molting hormone (ecdysteroids) in whole body extracts of 4th-instar larvae ofCulex pipiens L. (Diptera, Culicidae) was measured by an enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) using two specific antibodies, the rat monoclonal EC 19 antibody showing a high affinity for 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and the rabbit polyclonal B antibody six times more sensitive to ecdysone (E) than to 20E. EIA measurements revealed the presence of the two main hormones seen in C. pipiens: E (ca. 30 %) and 20E (ca. 70 %). Furthermore, change in ecdysteroid amounts during the 4th-larval stage was down using only a rat monoclonal because 20E was the major hormone. The ecdysteroid amounts presented a single peak that occurred at day three during the last larval development. In a second series of experiment, the cuticle cycle was determined by a histological study of the larval integument in order to establish temporal correlations with the hormonal levels. Thus, the ecdysteroid peak recorded during the last larval stage coincides with the apolysis and could be related with the induction of a new cuticle secretion.
Key words: Mosquitoes, Culex pipiens, hormone, ecdysteroids, enzyme-immunoassay (EIA), histology, cuticle.
Abbreviation
EIA, Enzyme immunoassay; 20E, 20-hydroxyecdysone; E,ecdysone; EcR, ecdysteroid receptor.
Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0