Table 1. Absolute sporozoite numbers in midgut (MG), hemolymph (HL) and salivary glands (SG) of all analyzed parasite strains.
Sporozoites in the midgut, hemolymph and the salivary glands of infected mosquitoes were counted between day 14 and day 24 post infection of each feeding experiment. Shown is the mean ± SD of all performed experiments per parasite line. Mosquitoes infected with fluorescent parasite lines were pre-selected for fluorescence in the abdomen using a fluorescence binocular microscope while mosquitoes infected with non-fluorescent parasites were not. Hence sporozoite numbers per infected mosquito for fluorescent parasite lines should be higher compared to non-fluorescent lines. n.d. – not determined; bold numbers indicate lower levels of salivary gland invasion.
| Parasite line | No. of MG sporozoites | No. of HL sporozoites | No. of SG sporozoites | SGS pos./total counts | SGS/MGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trap(-) | 26,000 (±24.000) |
6000 (±7,000) |
20 | 1/8 | 0.0009 |
| wt | 10,000 (±3,000) |
n.d. | 8000 (±7,000) |
4/4 | 0.8 |
| fluo | 108,000 (±70,000) |
n.d. | 21,000 (±4,000) |
6/6 | 0.2 |
| TRAP-I | 26,000 (±7,000) |
8,000* | 16,000 (±4,000) |
2/2 | 0.6 |
| MIC2-I | 38,000 (±16,000) |
6,000* | 18,000 (±3,000) |
2/2 | 0.5 |
| αX-I | 35,000 (±13,000) |
4,000* | 210 | 2/2 | 0.006 |
| αL-I | 42,000 (±16,000) |
7,000* | 30 | 1/2 | 0.0006 |
| RevCharge | 70,700 (±12,000) |
n.d. | 13,000 (±6,000) |
7/7 | 0.2 |
| trapΔI | 24,000 (±20,000) |
4000 (±5.000) |
60† | 3/14 | 0.003 |
| TRAP-I fluo | 22,000 (±13,000) |
2000 (±2.000) |
17,000 (±6,000) |
8/8 | 0.8 |
| MIC2-I fluo | 21,000 (±17,000) |
1000 (±700) |
7000 (±4,000) |
7/7 | 0.3 |
| αX-I fluo | 37,000 (±7,000) |
6000 (±2,000) |
120 | 6/6 | 0.003 |
| αL-I fluo | 34,000 (±9,000) |
5000 (±3,000) |
90 | 3/6 | 0.003 |
*hemolymph sporozoites of the non-fluorescent lines TRAP-I, MIC2-I, αX-I and αL-I were only counted once.
†in one infection 800 SG sporozoites could be counted. Intravenous injection of 5000 salivary gland sporozoites into each of four mice did not lead to infection.