Evolutionary sex allocation theory explains sex ratios in natural Plasmodium falciparum infections

Schneider, Petra, Babiker, Hamza A., Gadalla, Amal A. H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3131-725X and Reece, Sarah E. 2019. Evolutionary sex allocation theory explains sex ratios in natural Plasmodium falciparum infections. International Journal for Parasitology 49 (8) , pp. 601-604. 10.1016/j.ijpara.2019.04.001

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Abstract

Malaria transmission is achieved by sexual stages, called gametocytes, and the proportion of gametocytes that are male versus female (sex ratio) influences transmission success. In malaria model systems, variation in gametocyte sex ratios can be explained by the predictions of evolutionary sex allocation theory. We test these predictions using natural Plasmodium falciparum infections. The predicted negative correlation between sex ratio and gametocyte density holds: sex ratio increases when gametocyte densities decrease, and this is most apparent in single genotype infections and in the dry season. We do not observe higher gametocyte sex ratios in mixed compared to single genotype infections.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0020-7519
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 April 2019
Date of Acceptance:	5 April 2019
Last Modified:	02 May 2023 20:04
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/121577

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