Fig. 3
A–E PbBrca2 is required for asexual blood-stage growth and oocyst formation. A Parasitemia in mice intraperitoneally infected with WT (blue) or PbBrca2-KO1 (red) and PbBrca2-KO2 (orange) parasites. Each group included five mice, and the mice were infected via intraperitoneal injection with 106 blood-stage parasites. Mice infected with WT and PbBrca2-KO parasites were euthanized after days 6 and 10, respectively, in a humane manner. B Survival curves of mice infected with WT (n = 9) or PbBrca2-KO1 (n = 10) parasites. Mice demonstrating a highly pathological phenotype were euthanized in a humane manner. A log-rank (Mantel–Cox) test was used to compare survival curves. C Morphological analyses of WT and PbBrca2-KO1 parasites at the ring, trophozoite, and schizont stages. D Oocysts/midgut of mosquitoes infected with WT or PbBrca2-KO1 or PbBrca2-KO2 parasites. Mosquitoes were fed on three infected mice in each group. Horizontal bars are medians. e Proportions of mosquitoes harboring ≥ 1 oocyst. The F-test followed by Student’s t-test with Holm’s correction was used to compare the mean values of parasitemia and oocyst infection intensity. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, N.S. non-significant (vs. WT parasites). Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare the medians of oocyst numbers. For abbreviations, see Figs. 1 and 2