... diet to one required to digest blood. Prior to blood ingestion, the pH in the midgut is maintained at ∼6 via an efficient mechanism. In the abdominal midgut, alkalization to a pH of ∼8 occurs as a consequence of the loss of CO 2 from blood (CO 2 volatilization) and by a second mechanism that is not yet...

... of Biologists Limited 2007 2007 carbonic anhydrase mosquito larvae ectoperitrophic space rectum pH regulation midgut alkalization Mosquito larvae, like caterpillars, generate a luminal pH in excess of 10.5, one of the highest pH values known in any biological system( Dadd, 1975 ). The use...