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Updated: May 7, 2026

Building a Better Mosquito: Identifying the Genes Enabling Malaria and Dengue Fever Resistance in A. gambiae and A. aegypti Mosquitoes
Published on: July 4, 2007
Revealing the molecular determinants of gender in malaria parasites
Alan F Cowman1, Brendan S Crabb
1The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne 3050, Australia.
Abstract:
Malaria parasites have a complex life cycle with asexual multiplication in a vertebrate host and obligate sexual reproduction in the mosquito; however, commitment to sexual development begins in the vertebrate with differentiation of female and male gametocytes. In this issue of Cell, Khan et al. (2005) used elegant approaches to purify male and female gametocytes and elucidated their respective proteome, providing the basis for understanding sexual development in this pathogen.

