America

Malaria remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, despite decades of public health efforts. The recent commitment by many endemic countries to eliminate malaria marks a shift away from programs aimed at controlling disease burden towards one that em-phasizes reducing transmission of the most virulent human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Gametocytes, the only developmental stage of malaria parasites able to infect mosquitoes, have remained understudied, as they occur in low numbers, do not cause dis-ease, and are difficult to detect in vivo by conventional methods. Here, we review the trans-mission biology of P. falciparum gametocytes, featuring important recent discoveries of genes affecting parasite commitment to gametocyte formation, microvesicles enabling par-asites to communicate with each other, and the anatomical site where immature gameto-cytes develop. We propose potential parasite targets for future intervention and highlight remaining knowledge gaps