Transient transfection of intraerythrocytic Babesia bovis parasites has been previously reported. In this study, we describe the development and optimization of methods for transfection of purified B. bovis merozoites using either nucleofection (Amaxa) or conventional electroporation (Gene Pulser II, BioRad). Initially, the optimal buffer ("Plasmodium 88A6") and program (v-24) for nucleofection...

In vitro cultivation of Babesia bovis in erythrocyte cultures demonstrated that blood from young animals contains a factor(s) responsible for their resistance to severe babesiosis. This factor is independent of antibody, is present in the serum of all young animals tested, and is dialyzable. The presence of this factor results in inhibition of parasite multiplication and the eventual death of t...

Sequestration of Babesia bovis-infected erythrocytes (IRBCs) in the host microvasculature is thought to constitute an important mechanism of immune evasion. Since Ig is considered to be important for protection from disease, an in vitro assay of B. bovis sequestration was used to explore the ability of anti-B. bovis Ig to interfere with IRBC cytoadhesion, and to identify IRBC surface Ags acting...

Electron microscopic studies on merozoites of Babesia bovis in epithelial cells of the gut of Boophilus microplus revealed that the pellicle apparently consists of 3 membranes, and an osmiophilic layer intimately associated with microtubules. Micropores in the pellicle were often associated with micronemes. An unidentified tubular structure extended from the anterior polar ring to the nuclear r...

Babesia bovis, an intra-erythrocytic tick-borne apicomplexan protozoan, is one of the causative agents of bovine babesiosis. Its life cycle includes sexual reproduction within cattle fever ticks, Rhipicephalus spp. Six B. bovis 6-Cys gene superfamily members were previously identified (A, B, C, D, E, F) where their orthologues in Plasmodium parasite have been shown to encode for proteins requir...

Babesia bovis is a tick-borne intraerythocytic protozoan responsible for acute disease in cattle which can be controlled by vaccination with attenuated B. bovis strains. Emerging B. bovis transfection technologies may increase the usefulness of these live vaccines. One use of transfected B. bovis parasites may be as a vaccine delivery platform. Previous transfection methods for B. bovis were li...