Question

Study a part of life cycle of \textit{Plasmodium} given below:

Answer the following questions:
(a) Name the infective stage of \textit{Plasmodium} that is stored in the female \textit{Anopheles} mosquito.
(b) Where does fertilization and development of parasite take place?
(c) Identify labels P and Q in the given diagram.
(d) Asexual and sexual phase of the life cycle of the \textit{Plasmodium} takes place in two different hosts. Write their names.

Hint:

\textit{Plasmodium} requires two hosts for completing its life cycle: humans (asexual phase) and female Anopheles mosquitoes (sexual phase). The sporozoite stage is injected into humans during a mosquito bite.

Answer 1

Step 1 (a): The infective stage of \textit{Plasmodium} stored in the female \textit{Anopheles} mosquito is the **sporozoite**. Step 2 (b): Fertilization and development of the parasite take place in the **gut of the female Anopheles mosquito**. Step 3 (c): \begin{itemize}
Label P – Sporozoites
Label Q – Gametocytes \end{itemize} Step 4 (d): \begin{itemize}
Asexual phase – Occurs in **human host**
Sexual phase – Occurs in **female Anopheles mosquito** \end{itemize}