Fig. 1

Plasmodium vinckei parasites and their phenotypic characteristics. a Rodent malaria parasite species and subspecies and the geographical sites in sub-Saharan Africa where from which they were isolated (modified from [1]). Plasmodium vinckei is the only RMP species to have been isolated from five different locations. Inset: To date, several RMP isolates have been sequenced (black) to aid research with rodent malaria models. Additional RMP isolates have been sequenced in this study (red) to cover all subspecies of P. vinckei and further subspecies of Plasmodium chabaudi and Plasmodium yoelii. b Morphology of different life stages of P. vinckei baforti EL. R: Ring, ET: early trophozoite, LT: Late trophozoite, S: Schizont, MG: Male gametocyte, FG: Female gametocyte, O: oocyst and Sp: Sporozoite. Plasmodium vinckei trophozoites and gametocytes are morphologically distinct from other RMPs due to their rich haemozoin content (brown pigment). c Parasitaemia of ten P. vinckei isolates (split into two graphs for clarity) during infections in mice (n = 5) for a 20-day duration. † denotes host mortality. Plasmodium vinckei isolates show significant diversity in their virulence phenotypes