Wing bank of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from the Vector Section of the Pasteur Institute, aiming at studies of wing geometric morphometry

• Grant number: 24/14029-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: Karin Kirchgatter Hildebrand
• Grantee: Isabella Cristina Alves de Lara Maciel
• Host Institution: Instituto Pasteur (IP). Coordenadoria de Controle de Doenças (CCD). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/50345-5 - Institutional development plan in research and technology for vector surveillance and control of the Superintendência do Controle de Endemias - SUCEN (PDIp), AP.PDIP

Abstract

Culicidae are an extremely large and cosmopolitan group, present throughout the tropical and temperate regions of the planet. The hematophagy of females makes them important vectors of agents that cause arboviruses and other diseases transmitted by bites. The genera Aedes, Anopheles and Culex stand out within the Culicidae family due to their medical importance, being responsible for the transmission of pathogens that cause diseases such as West Nile fever, dengue and malaria. The most common way of identifying these insects is based on the morphological characteristics of adult specimens, together with taxonomic keys. However, the systematics is complex and limited to a few anatomical differences between some species and genera, and in some species, the differentiation of adult individuals is restricted to the identification of the male sexual organ. Furthermore, these characteristics can be lost during handling of the specimen. Wing geometric morphometry (WGM) is a reinforcement that has been successful in correctly identifying mosquito species. The objective of this project is to assemble, organize and catalog the wings of Culicidae specimens from the PDIP project, developed by the Vector Section of the Pasteur Institute (formerly SUCEN), where, to date, 1070 wings are available for WGM studies. The student will learn techniques for assembling mosquito wings for digitalization and will participate in the organization of the physical and digital database, also receiving notions of how to use these images in WGM studies. This project aims to achieve more than the proposed research study objective, as it fulfills the academic role of introducing the student to the process of scientific research and to the coexistence and exchange of dialogues with other students and researchers in the area, aiming at the development of scientific thinking on a topic that is related to the problem of identifying mosquito species of medical importance in Brazil.