Electrophoretic Differences in the Isoenzymes of two Mosquito Gregarines, Ascogregarina barretti and A. geniculati

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Abstract
Cross-infection experiments demonstrated that A. barretti, from Aedes triseriatus, completes its life cycle in A. geniculatus. Parasite numbers were comparable to infection with A. geniculati, making the separation of these parasites by host preference difficult. Electrophoresis readily distinguished isoenzymes from the 2 morphologically similar gregarine species. Different migration rates were obtained for isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2, lactate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase. The migration rates were also different for parasite and host isoenzymes. When a single, heavily infected gut was subjected to electrophoresis the isocitrate dehydrogenase bands of each were clearly distinguishable on the same electrophoretic track. Electrophoresis appears to be a reliable method for resolving taxonomic complications of mosquito gregarines, a group often with wide host specificities and variable taxonomic characters.