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The chemical characterization of the epicuticular hydrocarbons of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

G.L. Horne  and
A.A. Priestman
G.L. Horne
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, School of Sciences, Staffordshire University, College Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DE, UK
A.A. Priestman*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, School of Sciences, Staffordshire University, College Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DE, UK
*
*Fax: +44 (0) 1782 745506 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The chemical characterization of the hydrocarbon fraction of the epicuticular lipids of the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) was performed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–electron impact mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Seventy eight compounds were detected in purified hexane extracts and of these, 42 hydrocarbons were identified and several of the remaining compounds were partially characterized. The hydrocarbon classes present were n-alkanes, monomethylalkanes, dimethylalkanes and alkenes and the results were similar to those published for other Aedes species. Quantitative comparisons of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles were made between males and females, different age groups and between a standard laboratory strain and a recently colonized strain of A. aegypti. These results provide baseline data for further studies on the possible role of mosquito cuticular hydrocarbons in the modification of mating behaviour.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 92 , Issue 4 , August 2002 , pp. 287 - 294
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002

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