MT-CYB and malaria: The protein-coding genes which have been retained in mt genomes are mainly those involved in electron transport and phosphorylation, e.g., cytochrome b (cob) and the cytochrome oxidases (cox1, cox2, cox3) [4], but their number is variable ranging from three in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falsciparum (Apicomplexa) [5] to 67 in Reclinomonas americana, the earliest branching aerobic protist (Chlorophyta) [6].