LE3 .A278 2022

2022

Smith, Todd
Ferguson, Laura

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an immune response of mosquitoes when they are infected with apicomplexan parasites such as Plasmodium and Hepatozoon species. Little is known about the immune response of mosquitoes infected with Hepatozoon species from the blood of snakes, and if immune responses are elevated or suppressed in certain tissues of these insects. The objectives of this study were to determine the nature of the immune response of Culex territans infected with Hepatozoon sipedon of Common Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) and to compare such responses to those observed in mosquitoes infected with closely-related Hepatozoon species from the blood of frogs. Using a peroxide assay, the concentration of peroxide was measured in the midgut, haemocoel, and ovaries of mosquitoes that had taken a blood meal from uninfected and heavily-infected snakes. We found that oxidative activity significantly increased in the haemocoel of C. territans, but not in the midgut or ovaries. Comparison of these data with those of peroxide responses of mosquitoes infected with Hepatozoon species of frogs reveal that production of reactive oxygen species appears to be a generalized immune response in mosquitoes infected with Hepatozoon species, but is elevated in different tissues depending on the location of infection of various species of these parasites. These findings suggest that conserved immune responses are activated in different tissues as a result of the diversity of developmental locations of Hepatozoon species infecting mosquitoes.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3771