Genetic mapping and characterization of aldehyde oxidase of Anopheles albimanus (Diptera: Culicidae).

Aldehyde oxidase (Ao) of Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann was mapped on chromosome 3. The sequence is hexokinase-1--19.2 +/- 1.8--stripe--28.3 +/- 2.2--beta-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase--3.6 +/- 0.3--aldehyde oxidase--2.6 +/- 0.4--esterase-8--6.1 +/- 1.9--esterase-4--?--esterase-6 (phosphoglucomutase). Aldehyde oxidase is 26.1 +/- 2.5 from phosphoglucomutase and 27.2 +/- 1.6 from esterase-6. The one-band electromorph of Ao in homozygotes and the three-band type in heterozygotes suggest that the enzyme is a dimer. The isoelectric points of slow and fast allozymes are 5.5 and 4.8, respectively. A variety of electrophoretic techniques was used to determine if the allozymes of Ao can be differentiated on a basis other than mobility. The slow, fast, and hybrid genotypes were analyzed for differences in thermostability, reactivity to thiol reagent, susceptibility to urea denaturation, substrate specificities, and response to chelating agents. The relative effect of p]H on allozymes was tested by varying the pH of the staining buffer over a range of 4-12. No significant differences were detected among allozymes and no additional allelic variations were observed.