Sexual Differentiation and Development in the Malaria Parasite
The protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Plasmodium have a complex life cycle in which the asexual multiplication of parasites in the vertebrate host alternates with an obligate sexual reproduction in the mosquito. Gametocytes (male and female) produced in the vertebrate host are responsible f...
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Published in | Parasitology today (Regular ed.) Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 146 - 150 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford
Elsevier B.V
01.04.1998
Elsevier |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The protozoan parasites belonging to the genus
Plasmodium have a complex life cycle in which the asexual multiplication of parasites in the vertebrate host alternates with an obligate sexual reproduction in the mosquito. Gametocytes (male and female) produced in the vertebrate host are responsible for transmitting parasites to mosquitoes. Although our understanding of the biology and genetics of sexual differentiation in
Plasmodium is expanding, the most basic questions concerning molecular mechanisms of sexual differentiation and sex determination still remain unanswered. Recently, insight into the control of this complex process in
P. falciparum and
P. berghei has come from studying parasite mutants with aberrant capacities for gametocyte production. Here, Cheryl-Ann Lobo and Nirbhay Kumar review these analyses in
P. falciparum. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 ObjectType-Review-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0169-4758 1873-1473 |
DOI: | 10.1016/S0169-4758(97)01210-6 |