TY - JOUR A1 - Kreß, Aljoscha A1 - Kuch, Ulrich A1 - Oehlmann, Jörg A1 - Müller, Ruth T1 - Effects of diapause and cold acclimation on egg ultrastructure : new insights into the cold hardiness mechanisms of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus T2 - Journal of vector ecology N2 - The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae, SKUSE), is an important threat to public health due to its rapid spread and its potential as a vector. The eggs of Ae. albopictus are the most cold resistant life stage and thus, the cold hardiness of eggs is used to predict the future occurrence of the species in distribution models. However, the mechanism of cold hardiness has yet to be revealed. To address this question, we analyzed the layers of diapausing and cold acclimatized eggs of a temperate population of Ae. albopictus in a full factorial test design using transmission electron microscopy. We reviewed the hypotheses that a thickened wax layer or chorion is the cause of cold hardiness but found no evidence. As a result of the induced diapause, the thickness of the dark endochorion as a layer of high electron density and thus an assumed location for waxes was decreasing. We therefore hypothesized a qualitative alteration of the wax layer due to compaction. Cold acclimation was causing an increase in the thickness of the middle serosa cuticle indicating a detachment of serosa membrane from the endochorion as a potential adaptation strategy to isolate inoculating ice formations in the inter-membranous space. KW - Chorion KW - cold tolerance KW - compaction KW - freeze avoidance KW - wax layer KW - winter survival Y1 - 2016 UR - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/45113 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-451139 SN - 1948-7134 SN - 1081-1710 N1 - © 2016 The Society for Vector Ecology VL - 41 IS - 1 SP - 142 EP - 150 PB - Wiley Interscience CY - Hoboken, NJ [u. a.] ER -