Inducible developmental reprogramming redefines commitment to sexual development in the malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei.

ABSTRACT: During malaria infection, Plasmodium spp. parasites cyclically invade red blood cells and can follow two different developmental pathways. They can either replicate asexually to sustain the infection, or differentiate into gametocytes, the sexual stage that can be taken up by mosquitoes, ultimately leading to disease transmission. Despite its importance for malaria control, the process of gametocytogenesis remains poorly understood, partially due to the difficulty of generating high numbers of sexually committed parasites in laboratory conditions¹. Recently, an apicomplexa-specific transcription factor (AP2-G) was identified as necessary for gametocyte production in multiple Plasmodium species^2,3, and suggested to be an epigenetically regulated master switch that init

SUBMITTER: Kent RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6317699 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature