Knockdown of PAH causes a reduced melanization of <i>P. berghei</i> ookinetes.

<p>In 3 independent biological repeats ds<i>PAH-</i> and ds<i>LacZ</i>-injected (control) females were fed on a mouse infected with <i>P. berghei</i> parasites. Mosquito midguts were dissected and examined for oocysts 8 days after infection. <b>A)</b> Displayed is the proportion of females which harboured at least 1 oocyst (Likelihood of Infection: Fisher’s exact test, p>0.05) <b>B)</b> Oocyst load of ds<i>PAH</i> and ds<i>LacZ</i> injected females. The bars represent the mean ± SEM (Mann-Whitney U test, p>0.05). Only females with at least 1 oocyst and/or melanized ookinete were included in the analysis. <b>C)</b> Represented is the proportion of melanized ookinetes to the total number of oocysts per ds<i>PAH</i> or ds<i>LacZ</i> injected female. The bars indicate the mean ± SEM (t-test of arc-sine square root transformed proportion, **p<0.01).