Serial implantations of larval Schistosoma mansoni from infected to uninfected snails.
The long-term maintenance of Schistosoma mansoni in intermediate snail hosts is described. Snails were infected with one or five miracidia to obtain the initial parasitized liver tissue. The serial implantations were conducted. When the materials for serial implantation were obtained 20 to 60 days after the hosts had begun to release cercariae, the proportion of snails becoming infected was higher than when materials obtained earlier were used. It made no difference whether the initial infection was with one or five miracidia. Our findings suggest the possibility of cloning of unisexual infections in experimental infections.
D000818:Animals; D001700:Biomphalaria / Q000469:parasitology*; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000254:growth & development*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors