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First published online September 19, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 3067-3076 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.019299

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Larval anopheline mosquito recta exhibit a dramatic change in localization patterns of ion transport proteins in response to shifting salinity: a comparison between anopheline and culicine larvae

Kristin E. Smith, Leslie A. VanEkeris, Bernard A. Okech, William R. Harvey and Paul J. Linser^*

The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, 9505 Ocean Shore Boulevard, St Augustine, FL 32080, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: pjl{at}whitney.ufl.edu)

Accepted 23 July 2008

Mosquito larvae live in dynamic aqueous environments, which can fluctuate drastically in salinity due to environmental events such as rainfall and evaporation. Larval survival depends upon the ability to regulate hemolymph osmolarity by absorbing and excreting ions. A major organ involved in ion regulation is the rectum, the last region for modification of the primary urine before excretion. The ultrastructure and function of culicine larval recta have been studied extensively; however, very little published data exist on the recta of anopheline larvae. To gain insight into the structure and functions of this organ in anopheline species, we used immunohistochemistry to compare the localization of three proteins [carbonic anhydrase (CA9), Na⁺/K⁺ P-ATPase and H⁺ V-ATPase] in the recta of anopheline larvae reared in freshwater and saline water with the localization of the same proteins in culicine larvae reared under similar conditions. Based on the following key points, we concluded that anophelines differ from culicines in larval rectal structure and in regulation of protein expression: (1) despite the fact that obligate freshwater and saline-tolerant culicines have structurally distinct recta, all anophelines examined (regardless of saline-tolerance) have a structurally similar rectum consisting of distinct DAR (dorsal anterior rectal) cells and non-DAR cells; (2) anopheline larvae undergo a dramatic shift in rectal Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase localization when reared in freshwater vs saline water. This shift is not seen in any culicine larvae examined. Additionally, we use these immunohistochemical analyses to suggest possible functions for the DAR and non-DAR cells of anopheline larvae in freshwater and saline conditions.

Key words: carbonic anhydrase, V-ATPase, Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase, DAR cells, anopheline, culicine

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