Aedes Aegypti: Morphology the Egg and Embryonic Development

Abstract

Background: Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) has great relevance in public health worldwide due to its performance as a vector of arboviruses, which makes the knowledge about its cycle fundamental. It is known that the acquaintance of embryonic kinetics has great potential to assist in the development of new vector control technologies and, consequently, in the control of arboviruses. Methods: This research proposes to analyze the egg morphology and embryonic development of Aedes aegypti. Eggs from the insectary of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of São Paulo (n = 46) were used. The methodological procedure involved morphological and ultrastructural analyzes using equipment for optical microscopy (light and confocal) and electronic (scanning). Eggs and embryos were observed in initial, intermediate and final thirds of development, kept at a temperature of 28°C, 1°C until collection for processing. Results: The embryos had different morphological characteristics according to the stage of gestation, in the initial and intermediate stages of development. In the initial third, the presence of primordial epithelium and characteristics suggestive of intense cellular activity were found. Conclusion: According to the results obtained in the eggs, it is concluded that the great resistance of the chorion in the embryo is a factor that generates difficulties for microscopic analysis of the embryo (mainly in fixation), with a strong protective barrier.