Comparative ability to detoxify alder leaf litter in field larval mosquito collections.

The larvicidal effects of polyphenols from dietary alder leaf litter were investigated in different field collections of three detritivorous Aedes taxa (Ae. detritus, Ae. cataphylla, Ae. rusticus) and compared to the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, glutathione S-transferase, and esterase activities. Larvae from polyphenol-rich habitats had a higher tolerance for polyphenols and higher midgut cytochrome P450 and esterase activities than larvae from polyphenol-poor habitats. Furthermore, the role of P450 enzymes in the mechanism of resistance to alder polyphenols was suggested by the synergistic effect in vivo of piperonyl butoxide in the resistant Ae. rusticus. This confirms the importance of polyphenols to larval mosquito performance, and provides evidence for the importance of specific detoxification mechanisms for tolerance to dietary polyphenols. Arch. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.