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Growth, Composition and Longevity of the Axenic Mosquito

Department of Biochemistry and the Biological Aging Program, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky 40201

A procedure has been developed for the routine axenic culture of mosquito larvae (Aedes aegypti) utilizing a defined medium. Larvae were reared individually in tubes of sterile medium consisting of egg albumin, RNA, cholesterol, vitamins and minerals. The rates of growth, pupation, and adult emergence of axenic and standard reared mosquitoes were compared and found to be the same. On the other hand the longevity of the adults reared axenically as larvae was greater, and the biochemical composition of the pupae differed. This method has been applied to mass culture, other mosquito species, and the investigation of unknown growth factors, insect hormones, and protein and nucleic acid metabolism using radiolabeled precursors.

KEY WORDS: • growth • composition • longevity • axenic mosquito

Manuscript received 31 January 1972.