Generation and rearing of axenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
This protocol describes the generation of axenic Aedes aegypti, which can be raised from larvae to adults in the absence of a microflora. The total protocol including the time taken to grow E. coli (used in one of the diets) takes two days to set up. The mosquitoes will develop normally with a slight developmental lag compared to conventionally raised mosquitoes (~1 week). Two larval diets are described, a liver:yeast (LY) extract diet and an LY diet supplemented with heat-inactivated E. coli. Axenic mosquitoes raised on food supplemented with heat-inactivated E. coli develop slightly faster than axenic mosquitoes raised without killed bacteria. This axenic system allows the manipulation of the mosquito microbiome and transitions the microbiome into a variable that can be controlled and manipulated in a mechanistic manner.
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Posted 28 Nov, 2019
Generation and rearing of axenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
Posted 28 Nov, 2019
This protocol describes the generation of axenic Aedes aegypti, which can be raised from larvae to adults in the absence of a microflora. The total protocol including the time taken to grow E. coli (used in one of the diets) takes two days to set up. The mosquitoes will develop normally with a slight developmental lag compared to conventionally raised mosquitoes (~1 week). Two larval diets are described, a liver:yeast (LY) extract diet and an LY diet supplemented with heat-inactivated E. coli. Axenic mosquitoes raised on food supplemented with heat-inactivated E. coli develop slightly faster than axenic mosquitoes raised without killed bacteria. This axenic system allows the manipulation of the mosquito microbiome and transitions the microbiome into a variable that can be controlled and manipulated in a mechanistic manner.
Figure 1
Figure 2
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