ABSTRACT
The female mosquito becomes infected with Plasmodium when she ingests blood containing intraerythrocytic gametocytes from the vertebrate host. Gametocytes represent the sexual stages of the malaria parasites and are responsible for the transmission of the parasite from man to the mosquito vector. P. falciparum gametocytes are unique among the malaria parasites in that they have a long half-life and a prolonged period of infectivity, together with a long persistence in the peripheral circulation. Much progress has been made in the study of the basic biology of the human parasite P. falciparum since its continuous cultivation in vitro. Many gaps still exist in the present knowledge of parasite metabolism, the process controlling gametocytogenesis, gametogenesis, and sporogonic development. In addition to the erythrocytic sexual and asexual parasites and the exoerythrocytic stages, culture of the sporogonic cycle would bring about maintaining the complete plasmodial life cycle in vitro.
