http://cvmvcd.org/agenda/Information/Dec%2007/Informational(Lagenidium)-FINAL.htm
Lagenidium giganteum
A Useful Biological Control Agent against Immature Mosquitoes
· Lagenidium giganteum is a watermold that parasitizes the larval stage of mosquitoes. This group, although they look like fungi and have a "fungal lifestyle", nonetheless are related to diatoms and brown algae. The infective stage is a motile spore that goes on a search-and-destroy mission selectively seeking mosquito larvae.
· L. giganteum is not an obligate parasite and can grow on rotting vegetation or dead insects. In the absence of its hosts, it grows much faster and is easier to isolate from mosquito larvae. Infected mosquito larvae are covered by a characteristic grey-white appearance found either in the larval head capsule or the breathing apparatus at the tail end of the larva.
· This parasite can be found in freshwater habitats supporting mosquito populations in the southern
· Infection of a larval host is initiated by motile zoospores that selectively recognize chemical signals on the outer exoskeleton of mosquito larvae. After attaching, the zoospores inject themselves into the larva. There, they consume body tissues and the larva dies of starvation within 1-4 days. At that time, each cell of the parasite can form an exit tube and release ~ 30 asexual spores, which in turn seek out a new host and/or dormant sexual oospores that can remain viable in a dehydrated state for at least seven years.
