Table 2.

Properties of putative gametocyte-specific targets.

Rank	Gene ID	Description	Name	Intron-spanning	Least Ct difference
3	PF3D7_1143600	conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function	—	no	9.37
5	PF3D7_1147200	tubulin–tyrosine ligase, putative	—	no	8.52
6	PF3D7_1026100	conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function	—	yes	12.94
7	PF3D7_1438800	conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function	—	yes	8.57
8	PF3D7_0625100	sphingomyelin synthase 2, putative	SMS2	no	11.04
12	PF3D7_0930000	procollagen lysine 5-dioxygenase, putative	—	no	11.96
14	PF3D7_0518700	mRNA-binding protein PUF1	PUF1	yes	8.31
15	PF3D7_0303900	phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein, putative	—	yes	10.87
16	PF3D7_1466600	conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function	—	no	5.67
17	PF3D7_1107900	mechanosensitive ion channel protein, putative	MSCS	no	6.33
18	PF3D7_1214500	conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function	—	yes	10.61
24	PF3D7_1131500	conserved Plasmodium protein, unknown function	—	no	10.41
51	PF3D7_0929600	G2 protein, putative	—	yes	8.37
61	PF3D7_0816800	meiotic recombination protein DMC1, putative	DMC1	yes	13.29
75	PF3D7_0903800	LCCL domain-containing protein	CCp4	yes	12.70

Rank in transcriptomics (all data sets) for specificity in gametocytes. Random sample of top 100, excluding the gold standard. If primers are not intron-spanning, samples were DNase I treated. Ct difference is the difference between the lowest Ct detected in asexual samples and the highest Ct in concentration-matched stage V gametocytes, averaged across strains Pf NF54, NF135, NF166 and NF175.