Activity and rhythm of ATPases in larvae of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti L

Daily Rhythms in Mosquitoes and Their Consequences for Malaria Transmission

The 24-h day involves cycles in environmental factors that impact organismal fitness. This is thought to select for organisms to regulate their temporal biology accordingly, through circadian and diel rhythms. In addition to rhythms in abiotic factors (such as light and temperature), biotic factors, including ecological interactions, also follow daily cycles. How daily rhythms shape, and are shaped by, interactions between organisms is poorly understood. Here, we review an emerging area, namely the causes and consequences of daily rhythms in the interactions between vectors, their hosts and the parasites they transmit. We focus on mosquitoes, malaria parasites and vertebrate hosts, because this system offers the opportunity to integrate from genetic and molecular mechanisms to population dynamics and because disrupting rhythms offers a novel avenue for disease control.

Biological and biochemical effects of chronic exposure to very low levels of dietary cypermethrin (Cymbush) on honeybee colonies (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Cymbush (100 g of pure cypermethrin/liter of petroleum ether) was added to sucrose syrup at 12.5 microg/L and given to honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera mellifera, L.) in their diet for 5 months (July to November). Many perturbations have been recorded in treated groups in contrast to controls placed in the same area. Mortality in the hive, bee behavior, brood areas, supersedure, glucosemia, trehalosemia, and (Na+,K+)ATPase activity are many factors significantly affected over the 18-week test following sublethal treatment. Results suggested that long-term exposure of honeybees to cypermethrin-contaminated diets at concentrations not immediately lethal to worker adults may cause significant hidden damage to colonies.

Toxicity of cypermethrin and fenitrothion on the hemolymph carbohydrates, head acetylcholinesterase, and thoracic muscle Na+, K+-ATPase of emerging honeybees (Apis mellifera mellifera. L)

Comparative effects of sublethal doses (0, 0.1, 0.2. 0.4, 0.8, and 1 nmol/bee) of cypermethrin and fenitrothion have been studied on emerging honeybees. The insecticides were injected intrathoracially between the third and the fourth segment. Biochemical effects were determined over a 3-h period. Both cypermethrin and fenitrothion led to a significant hypoglucosemia and hypotrehalosemia 15 min after injection, but cypermethrin seemed more active than fenitrothion at the same doses. A recovery phase appeared for glucosemia and trehalosemia, 60 min after injection. The higher toxicity of cypermethrin than fenitrothion also appeared in this period, where it took a longer time for honeybees to reestablish carbohydrate levels following cypermethrin than fenitrothion injections. The low values of the correlation coefficients (r) for glucose versus trehalose levels led to the supposition that no typical functional interaction between glucose and trehalose could be considered to be involved in this experience. Na+, K+-ATPases activity was significantly inhibited (P< 0.05) by cypermethrin and maximum percentage inhibition was reached (45%) at 1 nmol/bee. The kinetic analysis of honeybee's acetylcholinesterase inhibition by fenitrothion, indicated that this insecticide acts (P< 0.05) on acetylcholinesterase activity. The percentage inhibition exceeded 60% at 0.2 nmol/bee. This result revealed that in general cypermethrin and fenitrothion share common biochemical effects on carbohydrates, although their neurotoxic effects on honeybees might be different.