Transplantation of schistosome sporocysts between host snails: A video guide

Wellcome Open Res. 2018 Jan 9:3:3. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.13488.1. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is an important parasitic disease, touching roughly 200 million people worldwide. The causative agents are different Schistosoma species. Schistosomes have a complex life cycle, with a freshwater snail as intermediate host. After infection, sporocysts develop inside the snail host and give rise to human dwelling larvae. We present here a detailed step-by-step video instruction in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese that shows how these sporocysts can be manipulated and transferred from one snail to another. This procedure provides a technical basis for different types of ex vivo modifications, such as those used in functional genomics studies.

Keywords: Biomphalaria; Schistosomiasis; sporocyst transfer; video instruction.