Pfsrpk1- parasites do not form male gametes and cannot infect the mosquito vector. The activated and nonactivated parasites were stained for PfUIS4 (red), a marker for parasitophorous vacuole, and anti-Pfs25 (green), a marker for female gametes in an IFA. a-Pfs25 staining (green) showed female gamete formation for WT PfNF54 and Pfsrpk1-.

Kumar S, Baranwal VK, Leeb AS, Haile MT, Oualim KMZ, Hertoghs N, Vaughan AM, Kappe SHI. PfSRPK1 Regulates Asexual Blood Stage Schizogony and Is Essential for Male Gamete Formation. Microbiol Spectr. 2022 12:e0214122.