Plasmodium sporozoites are the infectious, highly motile forms of the malaria parasite transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Sporozoite motility can be assessed following the dissection of Anopheles salivary glands and isolation of sporozoites in vitro.
Sporozoites of the phylum Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, are transmitted into the skin of their vertebrate host through the bite of an infectious mosquito. Sporozoite motility is a key prerequisite for parasite transmission and successful infection of the vertebrate host. Motility constitutes the first parasite mechanism that can be inhibited and is thus of interest for intervention strategies. Genetic modifications affecting gliding motility or motility modulating compounds can be readily investigated using 2D in vitro assays.
Bovine serum albumin (BSA) (Carl Roth, catalog number: 8076 )
BSA/RPMI 3% (see Recipes)
Equipment
Vacuum pump
Styrofoam box
Forceps
Micropipette with disposable tips
Binocular microscope (ZEISS, model: Stemi 305 or a comparable binocular microscope from any other manufacturer e.g., Nikon, Olympus, Leica)
Light microscope with phase contrast 40x objective (ZEISS, model: Axio Lab.A1 or a similar device from any other manufacturer e.g., Nikon, Olympus, Leica)
Prinz, H. L., Sattler, J. M. and Frischknecht, F. (2017). Plasmodium Sporozoite Motility on Flat Substrates. Bio-protocol 7(14): e2395. DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.2395.