title: Identification of Plasmodium falciparum-infected mosquitoes using a probe containing repetitive DNA.
abstract: A cloned repetitive DNA sequence (rep20) was evaluated as a diagnostic probe specific for Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites using experimentally infected mosquitoes squashed directly on nylon filters. Head/thorax portions of mosquitoes, killed 14-16 days after ingesting P. falciparum-infected blood, gave positive signals when examined for the presence of P. falciparum sporozoite DNA by hybridisation. This correlated with the number of oocysts found in a sample of the same batch of mosquitoes examined by dissection. No positive signals were obtained with 50 Plasmodium berghei-infected mosquitoes probed with the rep20 sequence. The results indicate that a probe containing rep20 may be useful in the rapid and specific incrimination of vectors carrying P. falciparum sporozoites. The value of repetitive DNA in the diagnosis of malaria is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, U.K.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Delves
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goman
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ridley
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matile
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Lensen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ponnudurai
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Scaife
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000469:parasitology; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D015342:DNA Probes; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D004247:DNA