The search for novel malaria transmission-blocking targets in the mosquitomidgut

The need for new malaria control strategies has led to increased efforts to understand more clearly the mosquito stages of Plasmodium. The absolute re quirement of gamete maturation and fertilization, transformation of sedenta ry zygote to motile ookinete, ookinete interaction and invasion of gut epit helium, and the survival of the mosquito against immune attack suggest that numerous unidentified targets exist, which could be modified to achieve tr ansmission-blocking of malaria. In the search for new transmission-blocking targets in the mosquito gut, Mohammed Shahabuddin, Stephane Cociancich and Helge Zieler here summarize recent studies to identify the cellular and bi ochemical factors that affect the malaria parasite's development; in partic ular, factors influencing the early development of Plasmodium, receptor-med iated interactions between the parasite and the mosquito midgut, and the gu t-associated immune responses directed against Plasmodium.