Amoebiasis and its Effect on Cell Division in the Midgut of the African Migratory Locust

Abstract

Malameba locustae (King & Taylor), a protozoan parasite of many laboratory-reared locusts, is known to damage epithelial cells of the host midgut regions. Mitotic and labelling indices in both caecal and ventricular regions of parasite-free and infected Locusta migratoria migratoriodes (Reiche & Faimaire) were investigated in the laboratory. Infected locusts were found to have significantly higher mitotic index values in both regions of the midgut than those found in parasite-free locusts. No significant differences were found in the labelling index between infected and parasite-free locusts indicating that one of the gap phases in the cell cycle becomes altered. This would account for the observed increase in cell division. A significantly larger number of cells was noted in the nidi of the ventricular regions of locusts infected with parasites.