Open AccessMotility and infectivity of Plasmodium berghei sporozoites expressing avian Plasmodium gallinaceum circumsporozoite protein
Author(s) -
Tewari Rita,
Rathore Dharmendar,
Crisanti Andrea
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
cellular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.542
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1462-5822
pISSN - 1462-5814
DOI - 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2005.00503.x
Subject(s) - biology , plasmodium gallinaceum , circumsporozoite protein , plasmodium berghei , avian malaria , anopheles stephensi , virology , plasmodium yoelii , parasite hosting , plasmodium (life cycle) , infectivity , vector (molecular biology) , anopheles gambiae , gametocyte , malaria , gene , immunology , plasmodium falciparum , virus , parasitemia , aedes aegypti , recombinant dna , genetics , larva , world wide web , computer science , botany
Summary Avian and rodent malaria sporozoites selectively invade different vertebrate cell types, namely macrophages and hepatocytes, and develop in distantly related vector species. To investigate the role of the circumsporozoite (CS) protein in determining parasite survival in different vector species and vertebrate host cell types, we replaced the endogenous CS protein gene of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei with that of the avian parasite P. gallinaceum and control rodent parasite P. yoelii . In anopheline mosquitoes, P. berghei parasites carrying P. gallinaceum and rodent parasite P. yoelii CS protein gene developed into oocysts and sporozoites. Plasmodium gallinaceum CS expressing transgenic sporozoites, although motile, failed to invade mosquito salivary glands and to infect mice, which suggests that motility alone is not sufficient for invasion. Notably, a percentage of infected Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes showed melanotic encapsulation of late stage oocysts. This was not observed in control infections or in A. gambiae infections. These findings shed new light on the role of the CS protein in the interaction of the parasite with both the mosquito vector and the rodent host.