2010 Photomicrography Competition

Anopheles gambiae (mosquito) heart

Jonas King

Vanderbilt University
Department of Biological Sciences
Nashville, Tennessee, USA


Anopheles gambiae (mosquito heart) was captured at 100x magnification. Jonas works out of Vanderbilt University’s Hillyer Lab, which studies the interactions between mosquitoes and their pathogens, along with salivary components and how they interact with the vertebrate host’s immune response.

The image details the structural organization of the mosquito heart and provides insight into how mosquitoes move blood to all regions of their bodies. Jonas notes, “Mosquitoes remain one of the greatest scourges of mankind. Malaria infects hundreds of millions of people annually and is believed to have a major impact on the economies of endemic regions.”