Changes in the activity of catalase with post-emergence age in male Aedes (Ochlerotatus) communis and A. (O.) cantans (Diptera: Culicidae)

A.V. Razygraev

Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 2025, 329(2): 187–192 · https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2025.329.2.187

Full text

Abstract

Increased biosynthesis of catalase, an antioxidant enzyme, is considered in literature as a component of physiological mechanism that enhances survival of mosquitoes under stressful conditions. Recently, using extracts of male mosquitoes Aedes (Aedes) geminus Peus and Culex territans Walker, it was shown that, in teneral and less than 1-day old adults, there is an elevated activity of catalase; in further days, the catalase activity is decreased to plateau. In present study, the hypothesis of the same pattern was tested in two species of subgenus Ochlerotatus of genus Aedes. Activity of catalase was measured in homogenates of immature and mature males of A. (O.) communis (de Geer) and A. (O.) cantans (Meigen) and the age-related differences in the specific activity of the enzyme, analogous to those observed earlier, were revealed: in teneral and less than 1-day old adults, the activity of catalase is significantly higher than in adults of 3–4 to 8–10 days of age. Elevated activity of catalase in teneral and less than 1-day old males suggests an important role of this enzyme during and/or immediately after metamorphosis. Increased catalase activity may reflect an activated antioxidant capacity in stressful period of development, in which the insect is highly vulnerable. It is also suggested that there is a link between the elevation of the activity of this enzyme and the increased biosynthesis of melanin which is accompanied by hydrogen peroxide production. Subsequent decrease of catalase activity possibly reflects low stress, the completion of many developmental steps and the maturation of the insect. Revealed changes in catalase activity associated with post-emergence age may be inductively considered a common physiological trait of mosquitoes.

Key words

quantitative analysis, mosquitoes, hydrogen peroxide, development, enzyme

Submitted October 21, 2024 · Accepted May 17, 2025 · Published June 3, 2025

References

Aebi H. 1974. Catalase in vitro. In: H.U. Bergmeyer and K. Gawehn (Eds). Methods of enzymatic analysis. Vol. 2. Academic Press, New York: 673–684.

Aebi H. 1984. Catalase in vitro. Methods in enzymology, 105: 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0076-6879(84)05016-3

Becker N., Petrić D., Zgomba M., Boase C., Dahl C., Lane J. and Kaiser A. 2010. Mosquitoes and Their Control, 2nd ed. Springer, Berlin, 577 p. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92874-4

Chesnokova L.S., Voinova N.E., Komkova A.I. and Lyanguzov A.Y. 1997. Quantitative protein analysis. In: V.G. Vladimirov and S.N. Lyzlova (Eds). Enzymes and nucleic acids. St-Petersburg University Press, Saint Petersburg: 5–25. [In Russian].

Isaacs M.L. 1922. A colorimetric determination of hydrogen peroxide. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 44(8): 1662–1663. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-0032(22)90949-4

Koroliuk M.A., Ivanova L.I., Maiorova I.G. and Tokarev V.E. 1988. A method for measuring catalase activity. Laboratornoe delo, 1: 16–19. [In Russian].

Lance V. and Elsey R. 1983. Selenium and glutathione peroxidase activity in blood of the nutria (Myocastor coypus): comparison with guinea pig, rat, rabbit and some non-mammalian vertebrates. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry, 75(4): 563–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-0491(83)90096-2

Munoz-Munoz J.L., García-Molina F., Varón R., Tudela J., García-Cánovas F. and Rodríguez-López J.N. 2009. Generation of hydrogen peroxide in the melanin biosynthesis pathway. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Proteins and Proteomics, 1794(7): 1017–1029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbapap.2009.04.002

Peizer L.R. and Widelock D. 1955. A colorimetric test for measuring catalase activity of cultures of M. tuberculosis. American Review of Tuberculosis and Pulmonary Diseases, 71(2): 305–313.

Pohlert T. 2021. The pairwise multiple comparison of mean ranks package (PMCMR). R package. Version 4.4 (2021-10-02). Available from: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=PMCMR

R Core Team. 2022. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/

Razygraev A.V. 2021. A method for measuring catalase activity in mosquitoes by using ammonium molybdate and reaction medium buffered with 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid. Parazitologiya, 55(4): 318–336. [In Russian]. https://doi.org/10.31857/S0031184721040049

Razygraev A.V. 2022. Activity of catalase in overwintering females of mosquitoes Culex pipiens, Culex torrentium, and Anopheles maculipennis s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae). Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 326(4): 294–302. [In Russian]. https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2022.326.4.294

Razygraev A.V. 2023. Catalase enzymatic activity in adult mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae): taxonomic distribution of the continuous trait suggests its relevance for phylogeny research. Zootaxa, 5339(2): 159–176. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5339.2.3

Sim C. and Denlinger D.L. 2011. Catalase and superoxide dismutase-2 enhance survival and protect ovaries during overwintering diapause in the mosquito Culex pipiens. Journal of insect physiology, 57(5): 628–634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2011.01.012

Wilkerson R.C., Linton Y.-M. and Strickman D. 2021. Mosquitoes of the World. Vols. 1 and 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, 1332 p.