title: The suitability of laboratory-bred Anopheles cracens for the production of Plasmodium vivax sporozoites.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A stenogamous colony of Anopheles cracens (A. dirus B) established 20 years ago in a Thai insectary proved susceptible to Plasmodium vivax. However, routine sporozoite production by feeding on field-collected blood samples has not been described. The setting-up of an A. cracens colony in an insectary on the Thai-Myanmar border and the process of using P. vivax field samples for the production of infectious sporozoites are described.
  
  
  METHODS
  The colony was started in 2012 from egg batches that were sent from the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chiang Mai, to the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU), on wet filter paper in sealed Petri dishes. From May 2013 to December 2014, P. vivax-infected blood samples collected from patients seeking care at SMRU clinics were used for membrane feeding assays and sporozoite production.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mosquitoes were fed on blood samples from 55 patients, and for 38 (69 %) this led to the production sporozoites. The average number of sporozoites obtained per mosquito was 26,112 (range 328-79,310). Gametocytaemia was not correlated with mosquito infectiousness (p = 0.82), or with the number of the sporozoites produced (Spearman's ρ = -0.016, p = 0.905). Infectiousness did not vary with the date of collection or the age of the patient. Mosquito survival was not correlated with sporozoite load (Spearman's ρ = 0.179, p = 0.282).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Consistent and routine P. vivax sporozoites production confirms that A. cracens is highly susceptible to P. vivax infection. Laboratory-bred colonies of this vector are suitable for experimental transmission protocols and thus constitute a valuable resource.
authors.affiliation: Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. chiara@tropmedres.ac.|Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand. chiara@tropmedres.ac.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andolina
authors.affiliation: Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. jordi.landier@gmail.com.|Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand. jordi.landier@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Landier
authors.affiliation: Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. verena@shoklo-unit.com.|Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand. verena@shoklo-unit.com.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carrara
authors.affiliation: Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. cindy@tropmedres.ac.|Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand. cindy@tropmedres.ac.
authors.forename: Cindy S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CR7, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. jean-francois.franetich@upmc.fr.|Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1135, CIMI-PARIS, 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. jean-francois.franetich@upmc.fr.|Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ERL 8255, CIMI-PARIS, 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. jean-francois.franetich@upmc.fr.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Franetich
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. aroth@health.usf.edu.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.affiliation: Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore. renia_laurent@immunol.a-star.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rénia
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CR7, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. clementine.roucher@live.fr.|Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1135, CIMI-PARIS, 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. clementine.roucher@live.fr.|Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ERL 8255, CIMI-PARIS, 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. clementine.roucher@live.fr.
authors.forename: Clémentine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roucher
authors.affiliation: Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. nickwdt@tropmedres.ac.|Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand. nickwdt@tropmedres.ac.|Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. nickwdt@tropmedres.ac.
authors.forename: Nick J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CR7, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (CIMI-Paris), 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. georges.snounou@upmc.fr.|Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1135, CIMI-PARIS, 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. georges.snounou@upmc.fr.|Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ERL 8255, CIMI-PARIS, 91 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France. georges.snounou@upmc.fr.
authors.forename: Georges
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Snounou
authors.affiliation: Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. francois@tropmedres.ac.|Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, Thailand. francois@tropmedres.ac.|Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. francois@tropmedres.ac.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nosten
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology; D000852:Anopheles / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D001947:Breeding; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000502:physiology*; D034101:Sporozoites / Q000502:physiology*