{"title":"Pink or blue: sex determination in malaria gametocytes.","authors":"Gabriele Pradel, Michaela Petter","doi":"10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.011","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sex determination in eukaryotes defines whether an organism develops as male or female and is shaped by genetic and environmental factors. In the malaria parasite Plasmodium, recent data suggest that sex determination is decided at two critical checkpoints. First, chromatin remodeling activates the master regulator AP2-G, triggering a transcriptional cascade that commits the parasites to sexual development and drives the expression of genes crucial for male and female gametocytes. Second, post-transcriptional processes - including the stabilization and suppression of transcript via RNA-binding proteins - guide the branching into male or female gametocytes through threshold-trait-dependent mechanisms. This review highlights recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the two checkpoints of sex determination in malaria gametocytes.</p>","PeriodicalId":23327,"journal":{"name":"Trends in parasitology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Trends in parasitology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2025.09.011","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PARASITOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Sex determination in eukaryotes defines whether an organism develops as male or female and is shaped by genetic and environmental factors. In the malaria parasite Plasmodium, recent data suggest that sex determination is decided at two critical checkpoints. First, chromatin remodeling activates the master regulator AP2-G, triggering a transcriptional cascade that commits the parasites to sexual development and drives the expression of genes crucial for male and female gametocytes. Second, post-transcriptional processes - including the stabilization and suppression of transcript via RNA-binding proteins - guide the branching into male or female gametocytes through threshold-trait-dependent mechanisms. This review highlights recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate the two checkpoints of sex determination in malaria gametocytes.
期刊介绍：
Since its inception as Parasitology Today in 1985, Trends in Parasitology has evolved into a highly esteemed review journal of global significance, reflecting the importance of medical and veterinary parasites worldwide. The journal serves as a hub for communication among researchers across all disciplines of parasitology, encompassing endoparasites, ectoparasites, transmission vectors, and susceptible hosts.
Each monthly issue of Trends in Parasitology offers authoritative, cutting-edge, and yet accessible review articles, providing a balanced and comprehensive overview, along with opinion pieces offering personal and novel perspectives. Additionally, the journal publishes a variety of short articles designed to inform and stimulate thoughts in a lively and widely-accessible manner. These include Science & Society (discussing the interface between parasitology and the general public), Spotlight (highlighting recently published research articles), Forum (presenting single-point hypotheses), Parasite/Vector of the Month (featuring a modular display of the selected species), Letter (providing responses to recent articles in Trends in Parasitology), and Trendstalk (conducting interviews). Please note that the journal exclusively publishes literature reviews based on published data, with systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and unpublished primary research falling outside our scope.
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