Lactate dehydrogenase as a marker of Plasmodium infection in malaria vector Anopheles

Lactate dehydrogenase (Ldh) electrophoresis showed the presence of Plasmodium yoelii yoelii in Anopheles stephensi and An. gambiae. The Ldh appeared as an additional band (pLdh) whose activity was more intense with 3-acetyl pyridine adenine dinucleotide as coenzyme than with β nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Several allelic forms occurred both in the vector and the host. The isoelectric point of Ldh, similar in the vector and host, differed from those of Ldh from mosquito and mouse. The presence of pLdh was detected from the 2nd to the 28th day of infection. The pLdh appeared to be proportional to the number of sporozoites present in infected salivary glands. However, pLdh was not found in salivary glands or midguts, but it was detected in the rest of the corresponding mosquito. The origin and use of pLdh as a marker of Plasmodium in its vector is discussed.