2-DIMENSIONAL GEL ANALYSIS OF MIDGUT PROTEINS OF ANOPHELES-STEPHENSI LINES WITH DIFFERENT SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM INFECTION

Little is known about the composition of the mosquito midgut which pla ys a central role in the development and subsequent transmission of ma laria parasites. As a first step towards the characterization of mosqu ito midgut molecules involved In the transmission of malaria parasites , we analysed two-dimensional gel electrophoresis patterns of the midg ut proteins of sugar-fed and blood-fed Anopheles stephensi lines of di fferent susceptibility to P. falciparum infection. Two lines fully sus ceptible and one line (Pb3-9A) of reduced susceptibility were used. In the refractory line ookinetes do develop but are only inefficiently t ransformed into oocysts (Feldmann & Ponnudurai, 1989). The protein pro files of midguts from all sugar-fed mosquito lines were similar. Howev er, after blood feeding, the midgut of the fully susceptible lines con tained proteins not found in the midgut of line pb3-9A, Twenty-nine su ch proteins were detected and are candidates for involvement in the in teraction between the mosquito midgut and P. falciparum.