Plasmodium yoelii: contribution of oocysts melanization to natural refractoriness in Anopheles dirus.

It is well known that Anopheles dirus is naturally refractory to rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium yoelii, but the mechanism is still largely unknown. Here, we found that some P. yoelii taken into An.

Two serine proteases from Anopheles dirus haemocytes exhibit changes in transcript abundance after infection of an incompatible rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium yoelii.

Serine proteases are involved in regulation of innate immune responses, such as haemolymph coagulation, melanization reaction and antimicrobial peptide synthesis. Although several serine proteases have been characterized in Anopheles gambiae (A. gambiae), few were cloned from other malaria vectors.