Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi: development of simple in vitro erythrocyte invasion assays.

Erythrocyte invasion assays are described for two species of rodent malaria, namely Plasmodium berghei and P.c. chabaudi. These invasion assays are simple, are carried out using a candle jar and allow a number of assays to be performed simultaneously. Our results demonstrate that both rodent malaria species show an in vitro preference for reticulocytes although the preference of P. c. chabaudi for these cells is not as marked as that of P. berghei. The details of our invasion assays and our results obtained are discussed.