III. Resistance
Assays
There are
two methods for performing bioassays. One method is designed to work on
mosquito larvae while the other is designed for mature adult mosquitos.
Both assays require their own separate materials and preparations. The
purpose of the bioassays is to detect insecticide resistance in individual
insects by measuring changes in the time required for an insecticide to
reach its target and exert a toxic effect. In the presence of a resistance
mechanism, this time interval increases.
The purpose
of the microplate assays is to detect resistance by its biochemical mechanism
in individual insects. This is accomplished through the measurement of
resistance enzyme levels (resistance gene expression) in small portions
of single insect homogenates.
Self-paced
practice questions follow each section.
Bottle
Bioassay (for adult samples)
Module takes approximately 1.5 hours to complete.
Larval
Bioassay (for larval samples)
Module takes approximately 1.2 hours to complete.
Bottle/Beaker
Calibration
Module takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
This is needed in order to know the concentrations of insecticide that
should be used in the bioassays. Please review the bioassay directions
above first.
Microplate
Assay
Module takes approximately 1.5 hours to complete.
Included
in each section above are checklists of materials
needed from commercial suppliers (they can also
be found in the resources section).
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