Studies on the inheritance of susceptibility to infection with Brugia pahangi and Wuchereria bancrofti in the Aedes scutellaris group of mosquitoes.

Abstract

Three western species of the Aedes scutellaris group, A. alcasidi, A. hebrideus and A. scutellaris katherinensis, were tested for susceptibility to infection with Brugia pahangi and sub-periodic Wuchereria bancrofti. All were fully refractory to infection.Female A. alcasidi and A. s. katherinensis were crossed with males of A. polynesiensis and/or A. cooki, both of which are susceptible to B. pahangi and are natural vectors of W. bancrofti. The female hybrids were backcrossed to the parental susceptible stocks. The hybrids and the back-cross progeny were tested for filarial susceptibility. A. cooki was homozygous for the sex-linked marker white-eye.The hybrids were mostly refractory to infection; 4·9% were susceptible to B. pahangi and 1·7% susceptible to W. bancrofti. The susceptible hybrids carried a much lower worm load than the A. polynesiensis controls.The progeny of the backcross (A. s. katherinensis X A. polynesiensis) X A. polynesiensis had susceptibility rates of 14·8 and 25·7% to B. pahangi and ...