Characterizing physical interactions between male and female mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) in relation to female receptivity and insemination outcomes using a hydrophobic fluorescent dye.

ABSTRACT: Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, presents a major threat to human health across the globe as a vector of disease-causing pathogens. Females of this species generally mate only once. From this single mating event, the female stores sufficient sperm to fertilize the multiple clutches of eggs produced during her lifetime. Mating causes dramatic changes in the female's behavior and physiology, including a lifetime suppression of her mating receptivity. Female rejection behaviors include male avoidance, abdominal twisting, wing-flicking, kicking, and not opening vaginal plates or extruding the ovipositor. Many of these events occur on a scale that is too miniscule or fast to see by eye, so high-resolution videography has been used to observe these behaviors instead. However, vid

SUBMITTER: Cramer MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10246000 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature