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Plasmodium is a parasitic protozoan genus that belongs to the Apicomplexa family, the Aconoidasida class, and the Coccidia sporozoan subclass. Plasmodium has been shown to infect red blood cells in mammals such as humans, birds, and reptiles. P. knowlesi is the plasmodium species that causes Malaria, an infectious disease. Malaria is spread via the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito on humans or other mammals. P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae, and P. knowlesi are some of the additional plasmodium species known to spread Malaria. Because it needs an insect (mosquito) as a catalyst to convey and disseminate the disease, the plasmodium parasite has a complicated life cycle.
Life cycle of a Plasmodium
Plasmodium parasites have a three-stage life cycle, which comprises Gametocytes, Sporozoites, and Merozoites.
Stage 1 – Gametocytes
An anopheles mosquito transmits microgametocytes, which are male gametocytes, and microgametocytes, which are female gametocytes, during a blood meal. The gametocytes of the mosquito mature into sporozoites. After 15 to 18 days, male and female gametocytes mate inside the mosquito’s gut and produce a parasite called sporozoite.
Stage 2 Sporozoites –
When an infected mosquito feeds on people, the sporozoites are transported into the bloodstream through the saliva. The sporozoites then go to the liver cells, where they mature into schizonts. Later, the sporozoites break and merozoites are released.
Stage 3 Merozoites –
Each schizont multiplies during the next one or two weeks to produce various different forms known as merozoites. Merozoites are parasitic worms that emerge from the liver and enter the bloodstream, killing red blood cells. Merozoites continue to reproduce and grow, destroying all blood cells in the process. The cycle is restarted when certain merozoites mature into gametocytes, which are then carried into the circulation by mosquitos. When red blood cells are damaged, merozoites release a toxin that causes bone-chilling shivers and a fever. Malaria in humans is characterized by extreme cold chills and fever.
Plasmodium falciparum is a human unicellular protozoan parasite that causes malaria. It is the deadliest Plasmodium species. The parasite is spread via the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito, which produces falciparum malaria, the deadliest form of the disease.
It is thought to be responsible for almost half of all malaria cases. As a result, Falciparum is recognised as the most lethal parasite in humans. It has also been linked to the onset of blood malignancy.
Around 10,000 years ago, it evolved from the malarial parasite Laverania, which was discovered in gorillas. In 1880, Alphonse Laveran was the first to discover the parasite, which he named Oscillaria malariae. In 1897, Ronald Ross discovered mosquito transmission. In 1898, Giovanni Battista Grassi discovered that the anopheles’ mosquito may transmit disease to people.
Human infection starts with a bite from an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Anopheles gambiae is a well-known and widely distributed vector, especially in Africa.
During feeding, the infective stage of the mosquito, called sporozoites, is released from the salivary glands and enters the bloodstream through the proboscis. The saliva of mosquitoes contains antihemostatic and anti-inflammatory enzymes that prevent blood clotting and reduce pain.
Each infected bite typically contains 20–200 sporozoites. Within 30 minutes, the immune system clears the sporozoites from circulation, but a few escape and promptly attack liver cells (hepatocytes). The sporozoites glide through the bloodstream, propelled by a motor made composed of the proteins actin and myosin embedded beneath their plasma membrane.
According to the World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report 2021, there were 241 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2020, with 627,000 deaths projected. Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for nearly all malaria deaths, with 95 percent of cases occurring in Africa.
Children under the age of five are the most vulnerable, accounting for 80 percent of all deaths. Nearly all instances of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa were caused by falciparum, but other, less virulent plasmodial species prevail in most other malaria-endemic areas.
The following are the different Plasmodium species that cause malaria:
- Plasmodium falciparum
- Plasmodium ovale
- Plasmodium malariae
- Plasmodium vivax
Malignant malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum, and it is the most dangerous variety of malaria.
CONCLUSION
Plasmodium has evolved in lockstep with vertebrate evolution for the past 120 million years. As a result, the plasmodium has evolved by acquiring new hosts and adapting to those hosts, proving the plasmodium’s major justification for evolution. Pseudomonas gaboni, Pseudomonas falciparum, Pseudomonas ovale, and Pseudomonas reichenowi are among the plasmodium species recovered from chimps. Gorillas are separated from the other species. mexicanum and floridense are Plasmodium parasites found in reptiles, whereas relictum and juxtanuclear are Plasmodium parasites found in birds.
