Dissection of Aedes albopictus and Total RNA Extraction from Post-Dissection Tissues

In Foshan, Guangdong Province, China, in July 2025, an outbreak of dengue fever and chikungunya occurred. Ae. albopictus is a major vector for these viruses. This protocol describes a simple, standardized method for dissecting the midgut, salivary glands, and ovaries of Ae. albopictus and extracting total RNA from the dissected tissues. Three-day-old non-blood-fed female mosquitoes were anesthetized by freezing at -20 °C for 2 min, after which the target tissues were dissected. Total RNA was extracted with a tissue RNA extraction kit, quantified by a microvolume spectrophotometer, and used for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis. The results show that the dissection method rapidly and completely separates the tissues, and that RNA from the separated tissues can achieve relatively high purity. RT-qPCR demonstrated the expression patterns and relative stability of three reference genes (GAPDH, β-actin, and RPS6). The method is straightforward, validated, and provides standardized technical support for Ae. albopictus related research.