TY - JOUR
T1 - Gametocytes
T2 - insights gained during a decade of molecular monitoring
AU - Babiker, Hamza A.
AU - Schneider, Petra
AU - Reece, Sarah E.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the BBSRC, Wellcome Trust, MRC (UK) and Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) for funding and four anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.
PY - 2008/11
Y1 - 2008/11
N2 - In vertebrate hosts, malaria parasites produce specialized male and female sexual stages (gametocytes). Soon after being taken up by a mosquito, gametocytes rapidly produce gametes and, once mated, they infect their vector and can be transmitted to new hosts. Despite being the parasite stages that were first identified (over a century ago), gametocytes have remained elusive, and basic questions remain concerning their biology. However, the postgenomic era has substantiated information on the specialized molecular machinery of gametocytogenesis and expedited the development of molecular tools to detect and quantify gametocytes. The application of such highly sensitive and specific tools has opened up novel approaches and provided new insights into gametocyte biology. Here, we review the discoveries made during the past decade, highlight unanswered questions and suggest new directions.
AB - In vertebrate hosts, malaria parasites produce specialized male and female sexual stages (gametocytes). Soon after being taken up by a mosquito, gametocytes rapidly produce gametes and, once mated, they infect their vector and can be transmitted to new hosts. Despite being the parasite stages that were first identified (over a century ago), gametocytes have remained elusive, and basic questions remain concerning their biology. However, the postgenomic era has substantiated information on the specialized molecular machinery of gametocytogenesis and expedited the development of molecular tools to detect and quantify gametocytes. The application of such highly sensitive and specific tools has opened up novel approaches and provided new insights into gametocyte biology. Here, we review the discoveries made during the past decade, highlight unanswered questions and suggest new directions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=54349113269&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=54349113269&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pt.2008.08.001
DO - 10.1016/j.pt.2008.08.001
M3 - Review article
C2 - 18801702
AN - SCOPUS:54349113269
SN - 1471-4922
VL - 24
SP - 525
EP - 530
JO - Trends in Parasitology
JF - Trends in Parasitology
IS - 11
ER -