Sex Determination in Malaria Parasites - Institut Pasteur Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Science Année : 2000

Sex Determination in Malaria Parasites

Résumé

A century ago, W. G. MacCallum identified distinct male and female forms in malaria parasites of both birds and humans. Since then, scientists have been puzzled by the high female-to-male ratios of parasites in Plasmodium infections and by the mechanism of sex determination. The sex ratio of malaria parasites was shown to become progressively more male as conditions that allow motility and subsequent fertilization by the male parasites become adverse. This resulted from an increased immune response against male gametes, which coincides with intense host erythropoietic activity. Natural and artificial induction of erythropoiesis in vertebrate hosts provoked a shift toward male parasite production. This change in parasite sex ratio led to reduced reproductive success in the parasite, which suggests that sex determination is adaptive and is regulated by the hematologic state of the host.
Fichier non déposé

Dates et versions

pasteur-03661346 , version 1 (06-05-2022)

Identifiants

Citer

Richard E. Paul, Timothy Coulson, Anna Raibaud, Paul Brey. Sex Determination in Malaria Parasites. Science, 2000, 287 (5450), pp.128-131. ⟨10.1126/science.287.5450.128⟩. ⟨pasteur-03661346⟩
12 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More