Horizontal Transmission of Amblyospora dolosi (Microsporidia: Amblyosporidae) to the copepod Metacyclops mendocinus (Wierzejs']jski, 1892)

This study documents the involvement of a copepod intermediate host in the life cycle of Amblyospora dolosi from the neotropical mosquito Culex dolosus in Argentina. Meiospores of A. dolosi from the mosquito host were infectious per os to female adults of the copepod Metacyclops mendocinus. All developmental stages in the copepod were haplophasic (unpaired nuclei), with sporulation producing a second type of uninucleate spore. These spores, formed in the ovaries of M. mendocinus, were lanceolate, curved, and measured 14.3 x 3.8 mu m This study supports previous life cycle studies which demonstrate that most if not all Amblyospora spp. in mosquitoes require an obligate intermediate copepod host to complete the life cycle.