These Standard Operating Procedures are used in the Schistosomiasis Resource Center to maintain the life cycles of Schistosoma spp. The SOPs are divided into six categories.
Procedures common to maintaining intermediate snail hosts of Schistosoma spp.
- Artificial Pond Water for the cultivation of Biomphalaria, Bulinus and Oncomelania species
- Aquaria maintenance
- Growth of immature B. glabrata
- Snail egg clutch collection
- Growth conditions until patency
- Control of rotifers and other commensals living in snail aquaria
- Gel snail food preparation
- Preparation of mud base medium for growth of Nostoc (cyanobacteria)
- Shedding B.glabrata patent snails for cercariae
Procedures common to maintaining Schistosoma spp. life cycles
- Percutaneous exposure via the tail using Schistosoma spp. cercariae
- Perfusion of adult worms from infected mice
- Behavior of Schistosoma mansoni cercariae
- Preparation of in vitro schistosomules
- Collection of lung Schistosoma mansoni schistosomules
- Culturing schistosomula
- Isolating Schistosoma spp. eggs from murine liver and gut
- Microscopic evaluation of sporocyst development in live Biomphalaria glabrata
- Shedding cercariae from patent snails
- Exposure of snails to miracidia
Procedures common to S. japonicum in the Oncomelania spp. snail host
Procedures common to S.haematobium in the Bulinus spp. snail host
Molecular and cell culture products
- Biomphalaria glabrata embryonic cell (Bge) cell culture
- Genomic DNA extraction from schistosome intermediate hosts and parasite stages
- Non-invasive DNA transfection to B. glabrata using polyethylenimine (PEI)
- Preparation of soluble egg antigen (SEA) S. japonicum eggs
- RNA extraction from schistosome intermediate hosts and parasite stages using RNAzol ®
Other
- Collecting Schistosoma japonicum eggs from mouse tissues
- Growth of immature Biomphalaria glabrata
- Fixing Biomphalaria glabrata snails for dissection
- Microscopic quantification of cercariae
- A histochemical method for identifying sex of Schistosoma mansoni cercariae (under construction)
- Collection of parasite eggs from tissues
- Molecular technique for sexing cercariae