THE EFFECTS OF SERA FROM RABBITS IMMUNIZED WITH MOSQUITO MIDGUT EXTRACT ANTIGEN ON THE FECUNDITY AND MORTALITY OF ANOPHELES GAMBIAE (DIPERA: CULICIDE)

Objective To examine the anti vector immune response of midgut from the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae .Methods Rabbits were immunized three times with An. gambiae midgut antigens that were fractionated in SDS PAGE gel. The sera from these rabbits were fed as blood meals to An. gambiae in membrane feeders. Results The mortality of mosquitoes has increased obviously, with 56% increase, and the average number of eggs laid per female mosquito is 71.4 in experiment group, control group being 88.1, and the fecundity was reduced by 18.7% compared with the control fed on pre immune sera. Conclusion These results showed a more directed approach for identification and isolation of critical antigens within mosquito midgut, which could eventually be targeted in anti mosquito and other anti vector vaccines.