Using green fluorescent malaria parasites to screen for permissive vector mosquitoes

doi:10.1186/1475-2875-5-23

Malaria Journal

Volume 5

Viewing options:

Abstract
Full text
PDF (5.2MB)
Additional files

Associated material:

Related literature:

Articles citing this article
on BioMed Central
on Google Scholar
on ISI Web of Science
on PubMed Central
Other articles by authors
on Google Scholar

Frischknecht F
Martin B
Thiery I
Bourgouin C
Menard R

on PubMed

Frischknecht F
Martin B
Thiery I
Bourgouin C
Menard R
Related articles/pages
on Google

on Google Scholar

on PubMed

Tools:

Post to:

Methodology

Using green fluorescent malaria parasites to screen for permissive vector mosquitoes

Friedrich Frischknecht¹^,3 , Beatrice Martin¹^,4 , Isabelle Thiery¹^,2 , Catherine Bourgouin¹^,2 and Robert Menard¹

¹Unité de Biologie et Génétique du Paludisme, Institut Pasteur, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France

²Centre de Production et d'Infection des Anopheles, Institut Pasteur, 25-28 Rue du Dr Roux, 75015 Paris, France

³Department of Parasitology, University of Heidelberg Medical School, Tel 49-6221-566537, Fax 49-6221-564643, Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

⁴CNRS, Institut Alfred Fessard, Neurobiologie Génétique et Intégrative, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

author email corresponding author email

Malaria Journal 2006, 5:23doi:10.1186/1475-2875-5-23


Published:	28 March 2006

Abstract

Background

The Plasmodium species that infect rodents, particularly Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium yoelii, are useful to investigate host-parasite interactions. The mosquito species that act as vectors of human plasmodia in South East Asia, Africa and South America show different susceptibilities to infection by rodent Plasmodium species. P. berghei and P. yoelii infect both Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles stephensi, which are found mainly in Africa and Asia, respectively. However, it was reported that P. yoelii can infect the South American mosquito, Anopheles albimanus, while P. berghei cannot.

Methods

P. berghei lines that express the green fluorescent protein were used to screen for mosquitoes that are susceptible to infection by P. berghei. Live mosquitoes were examined and screened for the presence of a fluorescent signal in the abdomen. Infected mosquitoes were then examined by time-lapse microscopy to reveal the dynamic behaviour of sporozoites in haemolymph and extracted salivary glands.

Results

A single fluorescent oocyst can be detected in live mosquitoes and P. berghei can infect A. albimanus. As in other mosquitoes, P. berghei sporozoites can float through the haemolymph and invade A. albimanus salivary glands and they are infectious in mice after subcutaneous injection.

Conclusion

Fluorescent Plasmodium parasites can be used to rapidly screen susceptible mosquitoes. These results open the way to develop a laboratory model in countries where importation of A. gambiae and A. stephensi is not allowed.