@article{fdi:010042563,
  title = {{A}ttraction between sexes : male-female gametocyte behaviour within a {L}eucocytozoon toddi ({H}aemosporida)},
  author = {{B}arraclough, {R}.{K}. and {D}uval, {L}. and {T}alman, {A}.{M}. and {A}riey, {F}. and {R}obert, {V}incent},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{U}nderstanding the breeding systems of {P}lasmodium, and the closely related {H}aemoproteus and {L}eucocytozoon ({A}picomplexa: {H}aemosporida), is fundamental to virulence and transmission research. {W}e report an unusual binding behaviour between gametocytes of {L}eucocytozoon toddi. {T}his aggregative behaviour was notably characterised by a disparity in the likelihood of clustering by female and male gametocytes. {T}hus, indicating a possible difference in the 'stickiness' of gametocytes per sex. {O}verall, 12% of gametocytes in this high-parasitaemia infection (0.269 gametocytes per 100 red blood cells ({RBC}s)) were incorporated into aggregations involving substantial contact. {T}he gametocyte sexual combinations within aggregations varied significantly from expected according to the background 0.49 sex ratio within this sample, with female-female contacts occurring more and male-male contacts occurring less frequently than expected. {A} second {L}. toddi (identical for 709 bp of the cyt b mitochondrial gene) with lower parasitemia (0.035 gametocytes per 100 {RBC}s) showed no significant binding. {I}nterestingly, the ratios of male gametocytes in both of these parasites were greater than expected under sex-ratio theory and similar to the 50% observed in species with syzygy breeding strategies. {W}e discuss the ramifications of this observation in terms of sex-ratio theory and breeding strategies and provide speculative explanations for this unusual gametocyte behaviour.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}arasitology {R}esearch},
  volume = {102},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {1321--1327},
  ISSN = {0932-0113},
  year = {2008},
  DOI = {10.1007/s00436-008-0913-8},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010042563},
}