Abstract
The malarial parasite must enter the erythrocyte of its host before it is able to undergo multiplication. In the absence of this replicative step, malarial infection would be a trivial, self-limited condition. Invasion of the erythrocyte is obviously a key step in this process and presumably involves more than mere mechanical penetration, since the membrane is intact afterward. In keeping with these notions, Miller and his co-workers have now shown that infection of the red cell by several species of malaria is apparently dependent upon a specific membrane factor either dictated by or genetically associated with the Duffy blood group. . . .