Gametocyte Sex Ratio: The Key to Understanding Plasmodium falciparum Transmission?
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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Culture and Mosquito Infection Through Artificial Membrane Feeding
Published on: July 3, 2020
Fitsum G Tadesse1, Lisette Meerstein-Kessel2, Bronner P Gonçalves3
1Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Institute of Biotechnology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; These authors contributed equally.
Abstract:
A mosquito needs to ingest at least one male and one female gametocyte to become infected with malaria. The sex of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes can be determined microscopically but recent transcriptomics studies paved the way for the development of molecular methods that allow sex-ratio assessments at much lower gametocyte densities. These sex-specific gametocyte diagnostics were recently used to examine gametocyte dynamics in controlled and natural infections as well as the impact of different antimalarial drugs. It is currently unclear to what extent sex-specific gametocyte diagnostics obviate the need for mosquito feeding assays to formally assess transmission potential. Here, we review recent and historic assessments of gametocyte sex ratio in relation to host and parasite characteristics, treatment, and transmission potential.
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