Fig 3. Model of parasite transmission.

Model of transmission where genetically distinct parasites are distinguished by color. Parameter values are drawn from the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20}, which represents the range of values observed in real life simulations. The bold number indicates the value in the example shown in the figure. Gametocytes are sampled from an initial polygenomic infection comprised of unrelated parasite strains. Sampled gametocytes are used to create oocysts within the mosquito midgut (middle). Each oocyst summarizes the entire sequence of events starting from gamete fusion to the end of meiosis. Oocysts are represented using a stylized pedigrees tree, where the crescents at the top represent parental strains undergoing meiosis, the oval in the center indicates whether the mating event is the result of selfing (solid color) or outcrossing (color-gradient), and the sporozoites at the bottom represent the four meiotic products generated through meiosis. Those with multiple colors indicate that genomes have undergone effective recombination and are genetically distinct from the parental strains and to each other. Sporozoites are sampled from the total pool of meiotic products to determine the genetic composition of the subsequent host infection. The number of sporozoites sampled is determined by the infected hepatocyte count used in the simulation.