Table 1.
Morphometric parameters of ookinetes, oocysts and sporozoites of four Haemoproteus species in the biting midge Culicoides impunctatus. Measurements are given in micrometres. Minimum and maximum values are provided, followed in parentheses by the arithmetic mean and standard deviation
| Feature | Measurementsa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H. pallidus | H. majoris | H. motacillae | H. balmorali | |
| Ookinete | ||||
| Length | 7.5–9.6 (8.3 ± 0.5) | 9.4–14.4 (12.1 ± 1.5) | 11.1–20.0 (16.7 ± 2.5) | 15.0–21.4 (18.0 ± 1.7) |
| Width | 2.1–4.3 (3.0 ± 0.6) | 1.4–3.0. (2.1 ± 0.4) | 1.3–3.3 (2.3 ± 0.6) | 1.4–3.0 (2.3 ± 0.4) |
| Area | 12.3–24.8 (16.9 ± 3.3) | 11.8–33.3 (19.5 ± 5.7) | 20.2–47.4 (31.5 ± 8.8) | 20.7–49.7 (32.3 ± 7.8) |
| Oocyst | ||||
| Min. diameter | 2.7–4.6 (3.5 ± 0.6) | 2.7–4.5 (3.6 ± 0.7) | 3.5–6.1 (4.8 ± 1.0) | 3.0–5.1 (4.2 ± 0.6) |
| Max. diameter | 3.6–5.2 (4.3 ± 0.5) | 3.6–6.0 (4.9 ± 0.8) | 5.4–7.1 (6.3 ± 0.6) | 3.8.1–6.9 (5.2 ± 0.8) |
| Area | 7.3–16.0 (11.7 ± 2.5) | 7.7–18.7 (14.5 ± 4.2) | 17.4–33.4 (23.7 ± 6.0) | 7.8–25.3 (17.7 ± 5.0) |
| Sporozoite | ||||
| Length | 6.2–11.5 (8.9 ± 1.3) | 6.6–13.5 (9.5 ± 1.5) | 8.7–12.7 (10.2 ± 0.9) | 7.7–12.0 (11.0 ± 1.0) |
| Width | 0.6–1.4 (1.0 ± 0.2) | 0.9–1.5 (1.1 ± 0.2) | 0.7–1.7 (1.0 ± 0.1) | 0.6–1.2 (0.9 ± 0.1) |
| Area | 5.0–9.8 (7.3 ± 1.3) | 5.7–13.2 (8.2 ± 2.0) | 5.2–11.5 (8.2 ± 1.6) | 5.0–9.5 (7.3 ± 1.1) |
aMeasurements of ookinetes (n = 21, methanol-fixed preparations 12–24 hpi), oocysts (n = 8–12, formalin-fixed preparations of mature parasites 2.5–4 dpi) and sporozoites (n = 21, methanol-fixed preparations 8 dpi)