Antennal morphology and sensilla ultrastructure of the malaria vectors, Anopheles maculatus and An. sawadwongporni (Diptera: Culicidae)

Kanchon Pusawang; Patchara Sriwichai; Kittipat Aupalee; Thippawan Yasanga; Rochana Phuackchantuck; Daibin Zhong; Guiyun Yan; Pradya Somboon; Anuluck Junkum; Somsakul Pop Wongpalee; Liwang Cui; Jetsumon Sattabongkot; Atiporn Saeung

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2023.101296

Antennal morphology and sensilla ultrastructure of the malaria vectors, Anopheles maculatus and An. sawadwongporni (Diptera: Culicidae)

Arthropod Struct Dev. 2023 Sep:76:101296. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2023.101296. Epub 2023 Aug 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Center of Insect Vector Study, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: kanchon_pu@cmu.ac.th.
² Department of Medical Entomology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand. Electronic address: patchara.sri@mahidol.ac.th.
³ Center of Insect Vector Study, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: kittipat.aupalee@gmail.com.
⁴ Medical Science Research Equipment Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: thippawan.y@cmu.ac.th.
⁵ Research Administration Section, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: rochana.p@cmu.ac.th.
⁶ Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA. Electronic address: dzhong@hs.uci.edu.
⁷ Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA. Electronic address: guiyuny@hs.uci.edu.
⁸ Center of Insect Vector Study, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: pradya.somboon@cmu.ac.th.
⁹ Center of Insect Vector Study, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: anuluck.j@cmu.ac.th.
¹⁰ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: pop.wongpalee@gmail.com.
¹¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA. Electronic address: liwangcui@usf.edu.
¹² Mahidol Vivax Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand. Electronic address: jetsumon.pra@mahidol.ac.th.
¹³ Center of Insect Vector Study, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: atisaeung.noi@gmail.com.

PMID: 37657362
PMCID: PMC10530502 (available on 2024-09-01)
DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2023.101296

Abstract

Mosquitoes rely mainly on the olfactory system to track hosts. Sensilla contain olfactory neuron receptors that perceive different kinds of odorants and transfer crucial information regarding the surrounding environment. Anopheles maculatus and An. sawadwongporni, members of the Maculatus Group, are regarded as vectors of malaria in Thailand. The fine structure of their sensilla has yet to be identified. Herein, scanning electron microscopy is used to examine the sensilla located on the antennae of adults An. maculatus and An. sawadwongporni, collected from the Thai-Myanmar border. Four major types of antennal sensilla are discovered in both species: chaetica, coeloconica, basiconica (grooved pegs) and trichodea. The antennae of female An. maculatus have longer lengths (μm, mean ± SE) in the long sharp-tipped trichodea (40.62 ± 0.35 > 38.20 ± 0.36), blunt-tipped trichodea (20.39 ± 0.62 > 18.62 ± 0.35), and basiconica (7.84 ± 0.15 > 7.41 ± 0.12) than those of An. sawadwongporni. Using light microscopy, it is found that the mean numbers of large sensilla coeloconica (lco) on both flagella in An. maculatus (left: 32.97 ± 0.48; right: 33.27 ± 0.65) are also greater when compared to An. sawadwongporni (left: 30.40 ± 0.62; right: 29.97 ± 0.49). The mean counts of lco located on flagellomeres 1-3, 6, and 9 in An. maculatus are significantly higher than those of An. sawadwongporni. The data in this study indicate that two closely related Anopheles species exhibit similar morphology of sensilla types, but show variations in length, and likewise in the number of large sensilla coeloconica between them, suggesting they might be causative factors that affect their behaviors driven by the sense of smell.

Keywords: Maculatus Group; Scanning electron microscopy; Sensory organs.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anopheles*
Female
Malaria*
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Mosquito Vectors
Sensilla

Abstract

MeSH terms

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