The exchange of calcium in larvae of the mosquito Aedes aegypti

Abstract

The exchange of labelled calcium between the external medium and the whole body was investigated in the larva of Aedes aegypti (L.) using a closed, two-compartmental model. The transport system for the uptake of Ca2+ was found to be saturable and obeyed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The efficiency of the inward transport of calcium from dilute solutions was markedly reduced by starvation or by ruthenium-red, a selective inhibitor of Ca2+ activated ATPase, indicating that this transport system is energy dependent. Unlike transport systems for the major monovalent ions, the Ca2+ transport system is not located in the anal papillae, since removal of these organs resulted in enhanced Ca2+ fluxes. While over 95% of the calcium in the larva appeared to be distributed in the extracellular haemolymph, only 16% of the total calcium was readily exchangeable with the external medium; thus the majority of the calcium is apparently bound to haemolymph constituents. The results suggest that calcium pumps consisting of Ca2+ activated ATPases play an important role in the absorption of Ca2+ from dilute solutions in the gut and its reabsorption from the urine in the rectum.