Journal
PATHOGENS
Volume 10, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10030346
Keywords
gametocyte biology; sexual stages; forward genetic screens; transmission-blocking candidates
Categories
Funding
- [R01AI130171]
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This review discusses the mosquito transmission of the deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, focusing on targetable features of gametocytes and proposing a forward-genetic approach for identifying novel transmission-blocking candidates in the future.
Mosquito transmission of the deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is mediated by mature sexual forms (gametocytes). Circulating in the vertebrate host, relatively few intraerythrocytic gametocytes are picked up during a bloodmeal to continue sexual development in the mosquito vector. Human-to-vector transmission thus represents an infection bottleneck in the parasite's life cycle for therapeutic interventions to prevent malaria. Even though recent progress has been made in the identification of genetic factors linked to gametocytogenesis, a plethora of genes essential for sexual-stage development are yet to be unraveled. In this review, we revisit P. falciparum transmission biology by discussing targetable features of gametocytes and provide a perspective on a forward-genetic approach for identification of novel transmission-blocking candidates in the future.
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