Mechanism of DDT resistance in larvae of the mosquito Aedes aegypti L.; The effect of DDT selection

Abstract Selection with pp '‐DDT was applied to fourth‐stage larvae of Aedes aegypti along four lines, starting with larvae of the F 2 generation from crosses between a susceptible strain and each of four resistant strains (two of Trinidad origin and two of Bangkok origin). Larval resistance increased substantially along each line but there was little or no change in the percentage breakdown of DDT to 1,1‐dichloro‐2,2‐bis(4‐chloro‐phenyl)ethylene ( pp '‐DDE) in vivo and in no line were these two variables significantly correlated. Percentage breakdown was generally higher at 10 mg than at 50 mg litre −1 . DDT uptake (defined as content of DDT+ pp '‐DDE) was generally higher after exposure to 50 mg than to 10 mg litre −1 . It increased significantly with selection in the TE×NS line; it remained unchanged in the T8 × NS line; and in the other two lines (BSJ × NS and B51 × NS), it increased initially but dropped as selection progressed, the reduction being highly significant in the second of these lines. The amount of internal residual (unmetabolised) DDT tolerated by larvae of the TE × NS line also increased significantly with resistance. The levels in the other lines followed the pattern of uptake, remaining steady in T8 × NS despite the increase in survival, rising at first and then declining in the two Bangkok lines. Thus selection produced a higher tolerance to internal unmetabolised DDT in the two Trinidad lines but led ultimately to a lower content of DDT+ pp '‐DDE in the two Bangkok lines. The reasons for this behaviour are discussed.