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Uniparental inheritance of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b in Plasmodium falciparum
A M Creasey1, L C Ranford-Cartwright, D J Moore
1Institute of Cell Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Abstract:
The inheritance of an extrachromosomal 6-kb element has been examined in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. A single base pair difference in the cytochrome b gene from the 6-kb element of two different cloned lines of the parasite was identified, and used as a marker in a cross in the mosquito stage of the life cycle. Analysis of 59 individual hybrid oocysts resulting from this cross clearly demonstrated that inheritance of the cytochrome b gene was uniparental. This observation makes it possible to investigate the inheritance and evolution of cytoplasmic traits, including certain forms of drug resistance, in natural populations of this parasite.