Fig. 1

Sensitivity of the bioluminescence assay for liver-stage infection. a Luciferin-based luminescence in mice as measured by total flux (photons/second) compared to a titration of the number of sporozoites injected. Naïve non-infected mice treated with d-luciferin served as a control for baseline signal. b Measurement of liver burden in the same mice used for luminescence using RT-qPCR P. berghei 18s RNA with the same sporozoite titration as in a. Both experiments demonstrate dose dependency with a dynamic range of approximately 2 logs. c Luminescence measurements of mouse livers at various time points post infection. Data indicate that the peak of infection is approximately 42 h post infection. d RT-qPCR measurements of liver infection as in d, however when liver burden is measured by RT-qPCR, no statistical significance is observed at different time points tested. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, Mann–Whitney test. Dashed lines represent background bioluminescence levels obtained from uninfected mice injected with luciferin