Sexual development in plasmodium berghei: the use of mitomycin c to separate infective gametocytes in vivo and ookinetes in vitro

P25 and P28 proteins of the malaria ookinete surface have multiple and partially redundant functions

“…P25 and P28 of P.berghei have multiple functions during ookinete/oocyst development Although ookinete development of the Dko parasites is less ef®cient than that of wt parasites, we found that these parasites were able to produce signi®cant numbers of mature ookinetes under in vitro conditions. P25 and P28 may represent as much as 25% of the total ookinete surface protein (Dearsly, 1989), and as GPI-anchored proteins may well be concentrated in cholesterol and glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomains of the plasma membrane (Severs and Robenek, 1983;Wunderlich et al, 1991;Friedrichson and Kurzchalia, 1998). It was, therefore, unexpected that neither electron microscope nor cell viability studies suggested that the gross architecture of the membrane was severely compromised and that the mature Dko ookinetes could penetrate the peritrophic membrane of the midgut wall.…”

Isolation of Plasmodium berghei ookinetes in culture using Nycodenz density gradient columns and magnetic isolation

“…Differing cushion concentrations allow enrichment of either zygotes or ookinetes [7]. Inhibitors of DNA synthesis (such as mitomycin C, aphidicolin and Berenil [8,9]) have been successfully employed as tools to further enrich ookinete preparations by eliminating asexual stages from gametocytaemic blood. This objective has also been achieved using pyrimethamine [7].…”