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Post-inoculation changes in enzyme activity of Aedes aegypti infected with Chikungunya virus
D T Mourya1, J Hemingway, C J Leake
1Department of Medical Entomology, National Institute of Virology, Pune, India.
Abstract:
Levels of acetylcholinesterase, non-specific esterases, glutathione-S-transferase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in Aedes aegypti (L.) mosquitoes inoculated intrathoracally with Chikungunya virus were elevated, as compared to uninoculated control insects. A number of these enzymes are important in the insects defence mechanism against xenobiotics, such as pesticides. Malathion bioassays indicated a reduction in the susceptibility of experimentally injected insects with virus or virus-free inoculum, compared to non-inoculated controls. However, insects which were mock-inoculated (injected with no inoculum) showed a similar reduction in susceptibility suggesting that the observed effect was due to the mobilization of a defence reaction in the mosquitoes in response to injury during inoculation.