Signalling pathways for sexual differentiation of apicomplexan parasites

This project aims to unravel the crucial sexual development of apicomplexan parasites, which cause major diseases in humans, life-stock and wildlife, including malaria. Only sexually differentiated cells can survive in the mosquito vector and hence this development is essential for the parasite's life-cycle. This project will employ an innovative new approach that separates female from male parasites, thus enabling new information to be gleaned about the development of these parasites. The expected outcomes are an understanding of the mechanisms of sexual differentiation and a functional characterisation of novel sex-specific molecules, which are pivotal prerequisites for new approaches to parasite intervention.