Mosquito transmission, growth phenotypes and the virulence of malaria parasites

Malaria Journal

Research

Laura C Pollitt¹  Andrew F Read²  Nicole Mideo³  Margaret J Mackinnon⁴ 

[1] Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Millennium Science Complex, Pennsylvania State University, 16801, University Park, State college, Pennsylvania, USA;Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Millennium Science Complex, Pennsylvania State University, 16801, University Park, State college, Pennsylvania, USA;Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA;Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada;Kenya Medical Research Institute–Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kilifi, Kenya;Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;

关键词: Malaria;    Transmission;    Virulence;    Mosquitoes;    Within-host dynamics;    Plasmodium chabaudi;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1475-2875-12-440

 received in 2013-10-17, accepted in 2013-12-04,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundA series of elegant experiments was recently published which demonstrated that transmission of malaria parasites through mosquitoes elicited an attenuated growth phenotype, whereby infections grew more slowly and reached peak parasitaemia at least five-fold lower than parasites which had not been mosquito transmitted. To assess the implications of these results it is essential to understand whether the attenuated infection phenotype is a general phenomenon across parasites genotypes and conditions.MethodsUsing previously published data, the impact of mosquito transmission on parasite growth rates and virulence of six Plasmodium chabaudi lines was analysed.ResultsThe effect of mosquito transmission varied among strains, but did not lead to pronounced or consistent reductions in parasite growth rate.ConclusionsMosquito-induced attenuated growth phenotype is sensitive to experimental conditions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Pollitt et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013