Plasmodium berghei
![](/Images/godic/202502/03/Berghei_013354.png")
![Live P. berghei expressing GFP (green) in erythrocytes; visualised using a fluorescence microscope](/Images/godic/202502/03/Berghei_023354.png")
![Infected mouse, with P. berghei in the lungs, spleen and adipose tissue. Transgenic parasites are visualized by their expression of the bioluminescent reporter protein Luciferase.](/Images/godic/202502/03/Berghei_033354.png")
![A liver cell with P. berghei (a schizont with daughter parasites) expressing mCherry (red). Here the parasite membrane is stained green with an antibody, while the nuclei of liver cells and parasites are stained with DAPI (blue)](/Images/godic/202502/03/Liver_stage_malaria_parasite3354.jpg")
Plasmodium berghei is a protozoan parasite that causes malaria in certain rodents. Originally, isolated from thicket rats in Central Africa, P. berghei is one of four Plasmodium species that have been described in African murine rodents, the others being Plasmodium chabaudi, Plasmodium vinckei, and Plasmodium yoelii. Due to its ability to infect rodents and relative ease of genetic engineering, P. berghei is a popular model organism for the study of human malaria.