biology

Plasmodium mexicanum

Plasmodium mexicanum is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Plasmodium mexicanum rather than just read about it. In short: Plasmodium mexicanum is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Paraplasmodium. Like all Plasmodium species P. mexicanum has both vertebrate and insect hosts.

Key takeaways

Plasmodium mexicanum belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Plasmodium mexicanum to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Plasmodium mexicanum from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Plasmodium mexicanum is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Paraplasmodium. Like all Plasmodium species P. mexicanum has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are reptiles.

Taxonomy The parasite was first described by Thompson and Huff in 1944.

Distribution This parasite is found in Arizona, United States.

Hosts This parasite infects the Sceloporus ferraripezi, S. horridus, S. microlepidotus, western fence lizard (S. occidentalis), S. pyrocephalus, S. variabilis, S. torquatus torquatus (subspecies of S. torquatus) and the tree lizard Urosaurus ornatus. This species is unusual in being able to undergo normal sporogony in psychodid flies – Lutzomyia stewarti and L. vexatrix occidentis, an unrecognized subspecies of L. vexator. Vector competence of L. vexator has also been demonstrated.

References

Further reading Moltz, Victoria; Lewis, William; Vardo-Zalik, Anne (October 2014). "Leukocyte Profiles for Western Fence Lizards, Sceloporus occidentalis, Naturally Infected by the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium mexicanum". Journal of Parasitology. 100 (5): 592–597. doi:10.1645/13-371.1. PMID 24945903. S2CID 207248239.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Plasmodium mexicanum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Plasmodium mexicanum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Plasmodium mexicanum before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Plasmodium mexicanum ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Plasmodium mexicanum

In research: Plasmodium mexicanum appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Plasmodium mexicanum in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Plasmodium mexicanum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Apicomplexa species, Parasites of reptiles, Plasmodium, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Plasmodium mexicanum outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Plasmodium mexicanum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Plasmodium mexicanum means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Plasmodium mexicanum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Plasmodium mexicanum in simple terms?

Plasmodium mexicanum is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Paraplasmodium. Like all Plasmodium species P. mexicanum has both vertebrate and insect hosts.

Why does Plasmodium mexicanum matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Plasmodium mexicanum?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Plasmodium mexicanum.