AUTHOR=Dash Manoswini , Sachdeva Sherry , Bansal Abhisheka , Sinha Abhinav 

TITLE=Gametogenesis in Plasmodium: Delving Deeper to Connect the Dots

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.877907

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.877907

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=In coming decades, eliminating malaria is the foremost goal of many tropical countries. Transmission control along with accurate and timely diagnosis of all forms of malaria, effective treatment and prevention are the different aspects need to be met synchronously to accomplish the goal. The current review is focused on one of the aspects i.e., transmission control, by looking deep into the event of gametogenesis. In Plasmodium life cycle, gametocytes are the first life forms of the sexual phase. The transmission of the parasite and the disease is critically dependent on the number, viability and sex-ratio of mature gametocytes and their further development inside mosquito vector. Gametogenesis, the process of conversion of gametocytes into viable gametes, takes place inside mosquito midgut, is a tightly regulated event with fast and multiple rounds of DNA replication and diverse cellular changes going on within a short period.  Interrupting the gametocyte-gamete transition is ought to restrict successful transmission and progression of the disease and hence an area worth exploring for designing transmission-blocking strategies. This review summarizes an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of biochemical and physiological mechanism of gametogenesis in Plasmodium, which could be targeted to get a way out to control transmission by targeting critical molecules. In this review, we also raised key questions and point out the gaps that still accompany the spectacular process of gametogenesis.