Species of malaria parasites that infect rodents provide models for the study of the biology of
malaria parasites that infect humans. In this article, Chris Janse and Andy Waters describe
some of the recent advances in the cultivation and purification methodology of one of these
species, Plasmodium berghei. The improvement of these techniques, and the increasing
knowledge about the molecular biology of P. berghei enhance the value of this particular
rodent model for the investigation of many aspects of the biology of Plasmodium.