Kinetics of Plasmodium midgut invasion in Anopheles mosquitoes

Abstract

Malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites traverse the mosquito midgut cells to establish infection at the basal side of the midgut. This dynamic process is a determinant of mosquito vector competence, yet the kinetics of the parasite migration is not well understood. Here we used transgenic mosquitoes of two Anopheles species and a Plasmodium berghei fluorescence reporter line to track parasite passage through the mosquito tissues at high spatial resolution. We provide new quantitative insight into malaria parasite invasion in African and Indian Anopheles species and propose that the mosquito complement-like system contributes to the species-specific dynamics of Plasmodium invasion.