[Not Available].
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History, 19th Century↗
Biomedical subjects
L Merzagora
Publications and source records attributed to L Merzagora.
Selective introgression of paracentric inversions between two sibling species of the Anopheles gambiae complex.
The Anopheles gambiae complex includes the major vectors of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa where > 80% of all world-wide cases occur. These mosquitoes are characterized by chromosomal inversions associated to the speciation process and to intraspecific ecological and behavioral flexibility. It has been postulated that introgressive hybridization has selectively transferred inversions on the second chromosome between A. gambiae and A. arabiensis, the two most important vectors of malaria. Here we directly test this hypothesis with laboratory experiments in which hybrid populations were established and the fate of chromosomal inversions were followed. Consistent with the hypothesis, "foreign" X chromosomes were eliminated within two generations, while some "foreign" second chromosomes persisted for the duration of the experiments and, judging from the excess of heterozygotes established stable heterotic polymorphisms. Only those second chromosome inversions found naturally in the species could be introgressed.
Animals↗
[Battista Grassi and malaria].
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Animals↗
A new odour-baited trap to collect host-seeking mosquitoes.
A new odour-baited entry trap which releases an air stream containing chemical cues collected from a bait, has been used successfully to collect West African mosquito species, most of them important vectors of malaria, such as Anopheles gambiae s.l. and An. funestus. 85% of the yield consisted of live, unfed and partially fed specimens. The trap has some practical and theoretical advantages over similar sampling techniques.
Animals↗
Detecting malaria sporozoites in live, field-collected mosquitoes.
A method is described for identifying malaria-infected mosquitoes, without killing them or hampering their fitness. Individual mosquitoes were induced to salivate on coverslips, and sporozoites, deposited on the glass surface, were visualized by Giemsa staining. Of 21 mosquitoes found to contain sporozoites by salivary gland dissection, 13 had delivered sporozoites on coverslips. A positive correlation was found between the amount of saliva expelled and ejection of sporozoites, indicating that the sensitivity of the method may be increased by improving the probing behaviour of the mosquitoes. The procedure described may be suitable for selecting infected mosquitoes which are able to eject sporozoites during probing. Being applicable to wild Anopheles and to large numbers of mosquitoes, the method lends itself for use in field studies on malaria.
Animals↗