Regulation of Infectivity of Plasmodium to the Mosquito Vector

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the complex factors regulating the infectivity of the gametocyte to the mosquito vector and describes the patterns of parasite biology that individually advantageous to particular host parasite combinations. The chapter discusses the gametocytogenesis, including the factors that regulate the differentiation of the erythrocytic stage parasites into sexual or asexual parasites, and the development of the gametocytes into either male or female cells. The biology of the mature gametocyte, including its cell biology, distribution and longevity/viability in the peripheral bloodstream, and the biology of the gametocyte-infected host and the regulation of mosquito infection by host factors that interact either directly with the parasite or indirectly upon the parasite following its ingestion by the mosquito vector are presented in the chapter. Gametogenesis, its molecular regulation with respect to the inducers required to trigger the gametocyte to leave its arrested state, the secondary signal pathways that regulate the constituent events of microgametogenesis (exflagellation), and the impact of external regulatory molecules (usually inhibitors) on gamete formation are described. The chapter also explains fertilization, its efficiency and role as a developmental regulator and outlines the post-fertilization development, including the mechanisms that regulate the survival or destruction of the parasite before its successful establishment under the midgut basal lamina where the oocyst then forms.