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Genetic characterization of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in the transmission from the host to the vector

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 1998

W. HUBER ,
H. HAJI ,
J. D. CHARLWOOD ,
U. CERTA ,
D. WALLIKER  and
M. TANNER
W. HUBER
Affiliation:
Swiss Tropical Institute, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland Corresponding author's present address: University Hospital, Division of Infectious Diseases, CH-8091 Zürich, Switzerland. Tel: +41 1 255 52 79. Fax: +41 1 255 32 91. E-mail: infhuw@usz.unizh.ch.
H. HAJI
Affiliation:
Ifakara Centre, PO Box 53, Ifakara, Tanzania
J. D. CHARLWOOD
Affiliation:
Ifakara Centre, PO Box 53, Ifakara, Tanzania
U. CERTA
Affiliation:
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
D. WALLIKER
Affiliation:
Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
M. TANNER
Affiliation:
Swiss Tropical Institute, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Socinstrasse 57, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
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Abstract

The present study followed a Plasmodium falciparum population through its life-cycle at the level of individual hosts and vectors. The aim was to determine to what extent genotypes of the parasite that were found in the host were transmitted to the vector. Mosquitoes were collected that had fed on people sleeping under mosquito nets with holes. Genes determining 2 highly polymorphic merozoite surface proteins, MSP-1 and MSP-2, were used to characterize the parasite by PCR at different stages of the life-cycle. The parasite genotypes found in the host were compared to the genotypes of the oocyst stages after transmission to the mosquitoes. The results show that there was no significant correlation in the rate of oocyst-positive mosquitoes and the presence of parasites in the blood samples. For MSP-1, most of the parasites characterized in the human blood by PCR fragment size were also found afterwards in the oocyst-stage (22 of 29; MSP-2: 17 of 36). This study indicates that there is no selective transmission of distinct genotypes to the vector. In addition, the frequencies of the allelic families of both genes are similar in the blood samples and in the oocysts for the whole population.

Keywords

Plasmodium falciparumgenetic characterizationtransmissionMSP-1MSP-2
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 116 , Issue 2 , February 1998 , pp. 95 - 101
Copyright
1998 Cambridge University Press

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