Targeting Gametocytes of the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum in a Functional Genomics Era: Next Steps

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...