Biomaterial Database

Detection of Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites in naturally infected anopheline species using a fluorescein-labelled DNA probe. 1997

M Lulu, and P W Hermans, and T Gemetchu, and B Petros, and H Miörner

Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

A dot blot hybridization method was developed to detect Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites in naturally infected mosquitoes. A fluorescein-labelled oligomer was used as a probe. Initial non-specific hybridization was found to correlate with the presence of blood in the mosquitoes. This was eliminated by allowing digestion of the engorged blood by keeping the mosquitoes in cages for 48 h before processing. The limit of detection of the hybridization assay was estimated to be about 500 sporozoites. The assay was evaluated on 198 indoor resting blood fed female Anopheles gambiae s.l mosquitoes collected from three malaria hypo- and meso-endemic areas in Ethiopia. An application of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying a fragment of the K1-14 gene of P. falciparum was used as a reference method. P. falciparum sporozoites were detected in four specimens (2%) by hybridization assay and by PCR alike. The results of this study indicate that the hybridization method can be potentially valuable in large scale epidemiological studies for detection of P. falciparum sporozoites in naturally infected anopheline species.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009693	Nucleic Acid Hybridization	Widely used technique which exploits the ability of complementary sequences in single-stranded DNAs or RNAs to pair with each other to form a double helix. Hybridization can take place between two complimentary DNA sequences, between a single-stranded DNA and a complementary RNA, or between two RNA sequences. The technique is used to detect and isolate specific sequences, measure homology, or define other characteristics of one or both strands. (Kendrew, Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology, 1994, p503)	Genomic Hybridization,Acid Hybridization, Nucleic,Acid Hybridizations, Nucleic,Genomic Hybridizations,Hybridization, Genomic,Hybridization, Nucleic Acid,Hybridizations, Genomic,Hybridizations, Nucleic Acid,Nucleic Acid Hybridizations
D010963	Plasmodium falciparum	A species of protozoa that is the causal agent of falciparum malaria (MALARIA, FALCIPARUM). It is most prevalent in the tropics and subtropics.	Plasmodium falciparums,falciparums, Plasmodium
D005260	Female		Females
D005456	Fluorescent Dyes	Chemicals that emit light after excitation by light. The wave length of the emitted light is usually longer than that of the incident light. Fluorochromes are substances that cause fluorescence in other substances, i.e., dyes used to mark or label other compounds with fluorescent tags.	Flourescent Agent,Fluorescent Dye,Fluorescent Probe,Fluorescent Probes,Fluorochrome,Fluorochromes,Fluorogenic Substrates,Fluorescence Agents,Fluorescent Agents,Fluorogenic Substrate,Agents, Fluorescence,Agents, Fluorescent,Dyes, Fluorescent,Probes, Fluorescent,Substrates, Fluorogenic
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000852	Anopheles	A genus of mosquitoes (CULICIDAE) that are known vectors of MALARIA.	Anopheles gambiae
D012680	Sensitivity and Specificity	Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)	Specificity,Sensitivity,Specificity and Sensitivity
D015342	DNA Probes	Species- or subspecies-specific DNA (including COMPLEMENTARY DNA; conserved genes, whole chromosomes, or whole genomes) used in hybridization studies in order to identify microorganisms, to measure DNA-DNA homologies, to group subspecies, etc. The DNA probe hybridizes with a specific mRNA, if present. Conventional techniques used for testing for the hybridization product include dot blot assays, Southern blot assays, and DNA:RNA hybrid-specific antibody tests. Conventional labels for the DNA probe include the radioisotope labels 32P and 125I and the chemical label biotin. The use of DNA probes provides a specific, sensitive, rapid, and inexpensive replacement for cell culture techniques for diagnosing infections.	Chromosomal Probes,DNA Hybridization Probe,DNA Probe,Gene Probes, DNA,Conserved Gene Probes,DNA Hybridization Probes,Whole Chromosomal Probes,Whole Genomic DNA Probes,Chromosomal Probes, Whole,DNA Gene Probes,Gene Probes, Conserved,Hybridization Probe, DNA,Hybridization Probes, DNA,Probe, DNA,Probe, DNA Hybridization,Probes, Chromosomal,Probes, Conserved Gene,Probes, DNA,Probes, DNA Gene,Probes, DNA Hybridization,Probes, Whole Chromosomal
D016054	DNA, Protozoan	Deoxyribonucleic acid that makes up the genetic material of protozoa.	Protozoan DNA