239 - Age Grading Mosquitoes, Culex tarsalis, and Culex pipiens In the working environment.

Abstract: The main goal of determining the age of Culex mosquitoes is to use it as a tool in monitoring the population of mosquitoes who are at risk of carrying West Nile Virus posing a risk to humans. The incubation period required for the virus to reach sufficient levels to cause disease transmission is 10-14 days. Knowing the age of a Culex population would assist in knowing the risk of the population carrying West Nile Virus.

A recent study by Joy et al., found that genetic expression of specific proteins in the mosquito change as the mosquito ages (2012). By comparing the change in genetic expression of the two proteins the age of the mosquito can be determined. Sarcoplasmic calcium binding protein (SCBP) gene expression decreases as the mosquito ages while ribosomal protein (RiboP) expression stays the same throughout the mosquito’s life (Cook et al., 2006).

By using RT-qPCR it is possible to measure the difference in expression between the two proteins and estimate the age of a mosquito population. Adding age grading will be beneficial to mosquito abatement districts. At times there are limited amounts of resources that can be applied and knowing the age of corresponding mosquito populations will help determine which populations of mosquitoes are a greater risk of carrying the virus and thus should be targeted first.

• Aging Field Collected Aedes aegypti to Determine Their Capacity for Dengue Transmission in the Southwestern United States. Teresa K. Joy, Eileen H. Jeffrey Gutierrez, Kacey Ernst, Kathleen R. Walker, Yves Carriere, Mohammad Strabismical A. Riehle. Published: October 12, 2012


• The use of transcriptional profiles to predict adult mosquito age under field conditions Peter E. Cook et al., 2006, PNAS