Plasmodium vinckei vinckei and P. yoelii nigeriensis: pattern of gametocyte production and development

The morphological evolution and the periodicity of the gametocytes of two rodent malaria species were studied in the white mouse. Experiments with Plasmodium vinckei vinckei, a highly synchronous species, showed that the production of the sexual stages was periodic and was set by the specific rhythm of the asexual stages, i.e. the time of inoculation and the duration of the cycle in the blood. The duration of gametocytogenesis from merozoite to stage 0 was approximately 30 hours, and from stage 0 to stage III, 6 hours. Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis which normally develops asynchronously in the blood was synchronized by a Percoll-glucose gradient fractionation. Although the duration of the asexual cycle was 18 hours, gametocytogenesis from merozoite to stage 0 lasted 24 hours and 12 hours from stage 0 to stage III. Some degree of sequestration was observed in the young gametocytes.