Are Schizogony and Sporogony both processes of multiplication in Plasmodium?
1 Answer
First thing first: Schizogony of parasitic organism Plasmodium takes place twice in human body-- once in hepatic cells (=pre-erythrocytic schizogony) and later in red blood cells (=erythrocytic schizogony) while sporogony of Plasmodium takes place in body of female Anopheles mosquito.
Plasmodium undergoes several transformations in its life cycle, and these stages are named differently.
Schizont form undergoes multiple fission i.e. schizogony, which is an asexual multiplication process. Schizo word comes from Greek original Skhizo which means to split/cleave/part/separate. Parasitic forms produced after schizogony are called merozoites.
Please note that sporogony is also multiple fission, which takes place after a zygote is formed. In Plasmodium, zygote is formed in stomach, it is motile and bores through stomach wall to settle outside within oocyst. So sporogony itself is a form of asexual multiplication, which involves spore formation. Parasitic forms produced after sporogony are called sporozoites.
