Abstract
The general esterase activity in larvae, pupae and adult mosquitoes of Aedes togoi, Aedes aegypti (ROCK), Aedes albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus (Kembangan) and Armigeres subalbatus was determined by a continuous fluorimetric assay which employs 4-methylumbelliferylacetate (4-MUA) as the substrate. The specific activities of the fourth-instar larva and adult of C. quinquefasciatus (Kembangan) were significantly higher than the corresponding activities of the other species of mosquitoes. When measured in the fourth-instar larvae, the total esterase activity per larva was significantly higher in C. quinquefasciatus (Kembangan) and Armigeres subalbatus compared to the other three species examined. This was correlated with correspondingly higher LD 50 values, measured with malathion, for these two species. 1-Naphthylacetate (1-NA) showed inhibition of 4-MUA-esterase activity. A comparison of the total esterase activity measured in parallel with 4-MUA and 1-NA as substrates in 11 extracts of adults and pupae of different species of mosquitoes showed a good correlation ( r = 0.96). The procedure was also modified as a quantitive end-point assay suitable for rapid screening of multiple samples. For investigation of field populations, the fluorescence of the released 4-MU could be observed under illumination of a 96-well plate with a hand-held u.v. lamp.
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