Cellular & Molecular Imaging

protein localization

in-situ hybridization assay

time-lapse imaging

in-situ hybridization assay

The Darwin Tree of Life project has the goal to sequence the genomes of 70,000 species of eukaryotic organisms in Britain and Ireland. This is a collection of photographs of the samples included in the study, provided by the National History Museum (NHM).

Background Microsporidia sp. MB, a microsporidian symbiont found naturally in Anopheles mosquitoes, has potential as a novel malaria control tool since it can inhibit Plasmodium development and transmission. The most feasible MB-based Plasmodium control strategy would involve dissemination through live mosquito releases, or release of spores infective to mosquito larvae. To implement either strategy, establishment of stable mosquito colonies carrying MB at a high frequency is likely to be essential. The progeny of field caught An. gambiae s.l from Burkina Faso were isolated for individual egg laying and tested for MB. The progeny of the MB positive females were pooled and this process was repeated for multiple generations. The relative density of MB in different life stages and tissues of the An. coluzzii host was examined using a novel duplex qPCR assay. We also examined the impact of MB on fecundity through individualization for egg laying and counting of eggs. Finally, we examined laid eggs for presence of MB spores. Results Three An. coluzzii colonies and one An. gambiae s.l hybrid colony were established with high prevalence and density of MB and were maintained for more than two years with minimal intervention. MB prevalence and density was highest in eggs and adult females and lowest in L4 larvae; in adults density was highest in the gonads. Additionally, MB density increased in ovary samples following blood feeding which was likely due to the activation of sporogony. The production of spores is the reason why MB-carrying females lay more white non-hatching eggs and show a small reduction in fecundity. Conclusions Establishment of several stable MB carrying An. gambiae s.l colonies and understanding the impact of spores on fecundity are significant steps forward in developing MB as a malaria control tool.

This dataset contains over 20000 images of Dipteran wings collected, mostly of mosquitos. Each image is accompanied by extensive metadata, accessible in the 00_metadata.* files. The dataset aims to facilitate research in wing geometric morphometry and support the development of machine learning models for advancing vector surveillance and research. It is a retrospective collection, harmonizing contributions from research projects conducted between 2008 and 2026. The detailed metadata on each sample and image is available in the 00_metadata.*. This table below will provide an overview of the scope and range of the collected metadata. Due to the retrospective nature of the dataset, images may vary significantly in aspects such as lighting, background, and capture conditions across different projects. Although extensive efforts were made to ensure comprehensive metadata, some entries remain incomplete. Missing metadata entries are marked as MISSING VALUE," while fields intentionally left blank are indicated with "-". For the full description of the dataset we refer to the associated publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-05043-3#Sec5

The neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis impacts over 700 million people globally. Schistosoma mansoni, the trematode parasite that causes the most common type of schistosomiasis, requires planorbid pond snails of the genus Biomphalaria to support its larval development and transformation to the cercarial form that can infect humans. A greater understanding of neural signaling systems that are specific to the Biomphalaria intermediate host could lead to novel strategies for parasite or snail control. This study examined a Biomphalaria glabrata neural channel that is gated by the neuropeptide FMRF-NH2. The Biomphalaria glabrata FMRF-NH2 gated sodium channel (Bgl-FaNaC) amino acid sequence was highly conserved with FaNaCs found in related gastropods, especially the planorbid Planorbella trivolvis (91% sequence identity). In common with the P. trivolvis FaNaC, the B. glabrata channel exhibited a low affinity (EC50: 3 x 10-4 M) and high specificity for the FMRF-NH2 agonist. Its expression in the central nervous system, detected with immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, was widespread, with the protein localized mainly to neuronal fibers and the mRNA confined to cell bodies. Colocalization of the Bgl-FaNaC message with its FMRF-NH2 agonist precursor occurred in some neurons associated with male mating behavior. At the mRNA level, Bgl-FaNaC expression was decreased at 20 and 35 days post infection (dpi) by S. mansoni. Increased expression of the transcript encoding the FMRF-NH2 agonist at 35 dpi was proposed to reflect a compensatory response to decreased receptor levels. Altered FMRF-NH2 signaling could be vital for parasite proliferation in its intermediate host and may therefore present innovative opportunities for snail control.

Image data of Spatial distribution of three ARGONAUTEs regulates the anther phasiRNA pathway

Manuscript abstract: Malaria transmission relies on sporozoite formation in the mosquito midgut and subsequent salivary gland invasion. Despite their importance, the cell biology of these processes remains poorly understood. We apply Mosquito Tissue Ultrastructure Expansion Microscopy (MoTissU-ExM), which physically expands infected mosquito tissues while preserving host and parasite ultrastructure. MoTissU-ExM reveals parasite structures and organelles, including features previously seen only by electron microscopy and novel structures not observed before. We use MoTissU-ExM to investigate sporozoite formation and salivary gland invasion, focusing on rhoptries - secretory organelles critical for host cell invasion. We establish a timeline for rhoptry biogenesis, show that two rhoptries are consumed during salivary gland invasion, and provide the first evidence that rhoptry pairs are specialized for different invasion events. We further characterize RON11 as the first protein involved in sporozoite rhoptry biogenesis; its disruption produces sporozoites that specifically fail to invade salivary gland epithelial cells, blocking parasite transmission. Dataset description: This dataset contains all microscopy data associated with the linked publication "Unlocking new understanding of Plasmodium sporozoite biology with expansion microscopy". All samples were prepared by ultrastructure-expansion microscopy (U-ExM). All samples were imaged on either a Zeiss LSM900 or LSM980 microscope, using either Airyscan-SR or Airyscan-MPLX modes. File names will include the magnification of the objective lens used as follows: 5x = EC Plan-Neofluar 5x/0.16NA Air 10x = Ziess Plan-Apochromat 10x/0.45NA air 20x = Ziess Plan-Apochromat 20x/0.8NA air 40x = Zeiss C-Apochromat 40x/1.2NA water-immersion autocorr M27 63x = Zeiss Plan-Apochromat 63x/1.4NA oil-immersion M27 Images are of mosquito tissues, or isolated parasites, from three Plasmodium species - berghei (Pb), falciparum (Pf), and yoelii (Py). Images are sorted and named as follows (folder name, file name) Plasmodium species > Tissue type/site of isolation > Parasite strain > Species abbreviation, MG/SG, Harvest day(dpi), Dye/Fluorophores (405nm -> 647nm), Objective, Image number (1->X), as (airyscan) For example, the third image taken of a P. berghei oocyst with the RON11iKD parasite line, that was harvested on Day 14 post infection, stained with NHS Ester AF405, BODIPY-FL, anti-Tubulin AF555, and Sytox Red, and imaged on the 40x-objective would be listed as follows: Plasmodium berghei > Infected midguts > RON11iKD > RON11KD MG 14dpi NHSBFlTub-SytR 40x 1 as The majority of images in this dataset are z-stacked images, but for many oocysts a single-slice image of the whole oocyst was taken. When this is the case, the single-slice image will be indicated with "SNAP". A list of the acronyms and abbreviations used in file names are as follows MG = Midgut SG = Salivary gland Spz = Sporozoite HC = Haemocoel dpi = Days post infection NHS = NHS Ester Alexa Fluor 405 BFl = Bodipy-FL-Ceramide BTRc = Bodipy-TR-Ceramide SytR = Sytox Deep Red Tub = anti-tubulin antibody CSP = anti-circumsporozoite protein antibody RAP1 = anti-rhoptry associated protein 1 antibody iKD = Inducible knockdown Ctrl = Control KD = Knockdown RON4 = anti-rhoptry neck protein 4 antibody GFP = anti-green fluorescent protein antibody WGA = Wheat germ aglutinnin BIP = anti-BiP antibody ERD2 = anti-ERD2 antibody