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Singer M, Frischknecht F. Fluorescent tagging of Plasmodium circumsporozoite protein allows imaging of sporozoite formation but blocks egress from oocysts. Cell Microbiol 2021; 23:e13321. [PMID: 33600048 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The circumsporozoite protein, CSP, is the major surface protein of Plasmodium sporozoites, the form of malaria parasites transmitted by mosquitoes. CSP is involved in sporozoite formation within and egress from oocysts, entry into mosquito salivary glands and mammalian liver as well as migration in the skin. Yet, how CSP facilitates sporozoite formation, oocyst egress and hepatocyte specific invasion is still not fully understood. Here, we aimed at generating a series of parasites expressing full-length versions of CSP with internally inserted green fluorescent protein between known domains at the endogenous csp locus. This enabled the investigation of sporozoite formation in living oocysts. GFP insertion after the signal peptide leads to cleavage of GFP before the fusion protein reached the plasma membrane while insertion of GFP before or after the TSR domain prevented sporozoite egress and liver invasion. These data suggest different strategies for obtaining mature salivary gland sporozoites that express GFP-CSP fusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirko Singer
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
- Experimental Parasitology, Department for Veterinary Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Friedrich Frischknecht
- Integrative Parasitology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Medical School, Heidelberg, Germany
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2
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Briquet S, Marinach C, Silvie O, Vaquero C. Preparing for Transmission: Gene Regulation in Plasmodium Sporozoites. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 10:618430. [PMID: 33585284 PMCID: PMC7878544 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.618430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites are transmitted to mammals by anopheline mosquitoes and first infect the liver, where they transform into replicative exoerythrocytic forms, which subsequently release thousands of merozoites that invade erythrocytes and initiate the malaria disease. In some species, sporozoites can transform into dormant hypnozoites in the liver, which cause malaria relapses upon reactivation. Transmission from the insect vector to a mammalian host is a critical step of the parasite life cycle, and requires tightly regulated gene expression. Sporozoites are formed inside oocysts in the mosquito midgut and become fully infectious after colonization of the insect salivary glands, where they remain quiescent until transmission. Parasite maturation into infectious sporozoites is associated with reprogramming of the sporozoite transcriptome and proteome, which depends on multiple layers of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms. An emerging scheme is that gene expression in Plasmodium sporozoites is controlled by alternating waves of transcription activity and translational repression, which shape the parasite RNA and protein repertoires for successful transition from the mosquito vector to the mammalian host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvie Briquet
- Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, INSERM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Carine Marinach
- Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, INSERM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Silvie
- Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, INSERM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Catherine Vaquero
- Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, INSERM, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
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3
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly T. Rios
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Huck Center for Malaria Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Scott E. Lindner
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Huck Center for Malaria Research, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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4
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Transcriptomics and proteomics reveal two waves of translational repression during the maturation of malaria parasite sporozoites. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4964. [PMID: 31673027 PMCID: PMC6823429 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12936-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium sporozoites are transmitted from infected mosquitoes to mammals, and must navigate the host skin and vasculature to infect the liver. This journey requires distinct proteomes. Here, we report the dynamic transcriptomes and proteomes of both oocyst sporozoites and salivary gland sporozoites in both rodent-infectious Plasmodium yoelii parasites and human-infectious Plasmodium falciparum parasites. The data robustly define mRNAs and proteins that are upregulated in oocyst sporozoites (UOS) or upregulated in infectious sporozoites (UIS) within the salivary glands, including many that are essential for sporozoite functions in the vector and host. Moreover, we find that malaria parasites use two overlapping, extensive, and independent programs of translational repression across sporozoite maturation to temporally regulate protein expression. Together with gene-specific validation experiments, these data indicate that two waves of translational repression are implemented and relieved at different times during sporozoite maturation, migration and infection, thus promoting their successful development and vector-to-host transition. Here, the authors report transcriptomes and proteomes of oocyst sporozoite and salivary gland sporozoite stages in rodent-infectious Plasmodium yoelii parasites and human infectious Plasmodium falciparum parasites and define two waves of translational repression during sporozoite maturation.
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5
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Bennink S, Pradel G. The molecular machinery of translational control in malaria parasites. Mol Microbiol 2019; 112:1658-1673. [PMID: 31531994 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Translational control regulates the levels of protein synthesized from its transcript and is key for the rapid adjustment of gene expression in response to environmental stimuli. The regulation of translation is of special importance for malaria parasites, which pass through a complex life cycle that includes various replication phases in the different organs of the human and mosquito hosts and a sexual reproduction phase in the mosquito midgut. In particular, the quiescent transmission stages rely on translational control to rapidly adapt to the new environment, once they switch over from the human to the mosquito and vice versa. Three control mechanisms are currently proposed in Plasmodium, (1) global regulation that acts on the translation initiation complex; (2) mRNA-specific regulation, involving cis control elements, mRNA-binding proteins and translational repressors; and (3) induced mRNA decay by the Ccr4-Not and the RNA exosome complex. The main molecules controlling translation are highly conserved in malaria parasites and an increasing number of studies shed light on the interwoven pathways leading to the up or downregulation of protein synthesis in the diverse plasmodial stages. We here highlight recent findings on translational control during life cycle progression of Plasmodium and discuss the molecules involved in regulating protein synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Bennink
- Division of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology, Institute of Zoology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Gabriele Pradel
- Division of Cellular and Applied Infection Biology, Institute of Zoology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany
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6
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Bando H, Pradipta A, Iwanaga S, Okamoto T, Okuzaki D, Tanaka S, Vega-Rodríguez J, Lee Y, Ma JS, Sakaguchi N, Soga A, Fukumoto S, Sasai M, Matsuura Y, Yuda M, Jacobs-Lorena M, Yamamoto M. CXCR4 regulates Plasmodium development in mouse and human hepatocytes. J Exp Med 2019; 216:1733-1748. [PMID: 31189656 PMCID: PMC6683982 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20182227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Revised: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
In the livers of Plasmodium-infected mammalian hosts, the rod-shaped mosquito-stage parasites develop into spherical exoerythrocytic forms, subsequently forming the erythrocyte-stage parasites and eventually causing malaria. Here, Bando et al. identify CXCR4 as a host factor for Plasmodium liver-stage development. The liver stage of the etiological agent of malaria, Plasmodium, is obligatory for successful infection of its various mammalian hosts. Differentiation of the rod-shaped sporozoites of Plasmodium into spherical exoerythrocytic forms (EEFs) via bulbous expansion is essential for parasite development in the liver. However, little is known about the host factors regulating the morphological transformation of Plasmodium sporozoites in this organ. Here, we show that sporozoite differentiation into EEFs in the liver involves protein kinase C ζ–mediated NF-κB activation, which robustly induces the expression of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) in hepatocytes and subsequently elevates intracellular Ca2+ levels, thereby triggering sporozoite transformation into EEFs. Blocking CXCR4 expression by genetic or pharmacological intervention profoundly inhibited the liver-stage development of the Plasmodium berghei rodent malaria parasite and the human Plasmodium falciparum parasite. Collectively, our experiments show that CXCR4 is a key host factor for Plasmodium development in the liver, and CXCR4 warrants further investigation for malaria prophylaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hironori Bando
- Department of Immunoparasitology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ariel Pradipta
- Department of Immunoparasitology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shiroh Iwanaga
- Department of Environmental Parasitology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Medical Zoology, Mie University School of Medicine, Mie, Japan
| | - Toru Okamoto
- Department of Molecular Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Daisuke Okuzaki
- Genome Information Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shun Tanaka
- Department of Immunoparasitology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.,Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Joel Vega-Rodríguez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Baltimore, MD
| | - Youngae Lee
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ji Su Ma
- Department of Immunoparasitology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.,Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Naoya Sakaguchi
- Department of Immunoparasitology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.,Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Akira Soga
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan
| | - Shinya Fukumoto
- National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan
| | - Miwa Sasai
- Department of Immunoparasitology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.,Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yoshiharu Matsuura
- Department of Molecular Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Masao Yuda
- Department of Medical Zoology, Mie University School of Medicine, Mie, Japan
| | - Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Baltimore, MD
| | - Masahiro Yamamoto
- Department of Immunoparasitology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan .,Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
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Marin-Mogollon C, Salman AM, Koolen KMJ, Bolscher JM, van Pul FJA, Miyazaki S, Imai T, Othman AS, Ramesar J, van Gemert GJ, Kroeze H, Chevalley-Maurel S, Franke-Fayard B, Sauerwein RW, Hill AVS, Dechering KJ, Janse CJ, Khan SM. A P. falciparum NF54 Reporter Line Expressing mCherry-Luciferase in Gametocytes, Sporozoites, and Liver-Stages. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:96. [PMID: 31058097 PMCID: PMC6477837 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Transgenic malaria parasites expressing fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins are valuable tools to interrogate malaria-parasite biology and to evaluate drugs and vaccines. Using CRISPR/Cas9 methodology a transgenic Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) NF54 line was generated that expresses a fusion of mCherry and luciferase genes under the control of the Pf etramp10.3 gene promoter (line mCherry-luc@etramp10.3). Pf etramp10.3 is related to rodent Plasmodium uis4 and the uis4 promoter has been used to drive high transgene expression in rodent parasite sporozoites and liver-stages. We examined transgene expression throughout the complete life cycle and compared this expression to transgenic lines expressing mCherry-luciferase and GFP-luciferase under control of the constitutive gapdh and eef1a promoters. The mCherry-luc@etramp10.3 parasites express mCherry in gametocytes, sporozoites, and liver-stages. While no mCherry signal was detected in asexual blood-stage parasites above background levels, luciferase expression was detected in asexual blood-stages, as well as in gametocytes, sporozoites and liver-stages, with the highest levels of reporter expression detected in stage III-V gametocytes and in sporozoites. The expression of mCherry and luciferase in gametocytes and sporozoites makes this transgenic parasite line suitable to use in in vitro assays that examine the effect of transmission blocking inhibitors and to analyse gametocyte and sporozoite biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ahmed M Salman
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Fiona J A van Pul
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Shinya Miyazaki
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Takashi Imai
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.,Department of Infectious Diseases and Host Defense, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan
| | - Ahmad Syibli Othman
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.,Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Malaysia
| | - Jai Ramesar
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Geert-Jan van Gemert
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Hans Kroeze
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Robert W Sauerwein
- TropIQ Health Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Adrian V S Hill
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Chris J Janse
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Shahid M Khan
- Department of Parasitology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
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8
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Zuck M, Austin LS, Danziger SA, Aitchison JD, Kaushansky A. The Promise of Systems Biology Approaches for Revealing Host Pathogen Interactions in Malaria. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:2183. [PMID: 29201016 PMCID: PMC5696578 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite global eradication efforts over the past century, malaria remains a devastating public health burden, causing almost half a million deaths annually (WHO, 2016). A detailed understanding of the mechanisms that control malaria infection has been hindered by technical challenges of studying a complex parasite life cycle in multiple hosts. While many interventions targeting the parasite have been implemented, the complex biology of Plasmodium poses a major challenge, and must be addressed to enable eradication. New approaches for elucidating key host-parasite interactions, and predicting how the parasite will respond in a variety of biological settings, could dramatically enhance the efficacy and longevity of intervention strategies. The field of systems biology has developed methodologies and principles that are well poised to meet these challenges. In this review, we focus our attention on the Liver Stage of the Plasmodium lifecycle and issue a “call to arms” for using systems biology approaches to forge a new era in malaria research. These approaches will reveal insights into the complex interplay between host and pathogen, and could ultimately lead to novel intervention strategies that contribute to malaria eradication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan Zuck
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Laura S Austin
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Samuel A Danziger
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States.,Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - John D Aitchison
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States.,Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Alexis Kaushansky
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, WA, United States.,Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
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Abstract
Malaria continues to impose a significant disease burden on low- and middle-income countries in the tropics. However, revolutionary progress over the last 3 years in nucleic acid sequencing, reverse genetics, and post-genome analyses has generated step changes in our understanding of malaria parasite (Plasmodium spp.) biology and its interactions with its host and vector. Driven by the availability of vast amounts of genome sequence data from Plasmodium species strains, relevant human populations of different ethnicities, and mosquito vectors, researchers can consider any biological component of the malarial process in isolation or in the interactive setting that is infection. In particular, considerable progress has been made in the area of population genomics, with Plasmodium falciparum serving as a highly relevant model. Such studies have demonstrated that genome evolution under strong selective pressure can be detected. These data, combined with reverse genetics, have enabled the identification of the region of the P. falciparum genome that is under selective pressure and the confirmation of the functionality of the mutations in the kelch13 gene that accompany resistance to the major frontline antimalarial, artemisinin. Furthermore, the central role of epigenetic regulation of gene expression and antigenic variation and developmental fate in P. falciparum is becoming ever clearer. This review summarizes recent exciting discoveries that genome technologies have enabled in malaria research and highlights some of their applications to healthcare. The knowledge gained will help to develop surveillance approaches for the emergence or spread of drug resistance and to identify new targets for the development of antimalarial drugs and perhaps vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Kirchner
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA, UK
| | - B Joanne Power
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA, UK
| | - Andrew P Waters
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA, UK.
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Vembar SS, Droll D, Scherf A. Translational regulation in blood stages of the malaria parasite Plasmodium spp.: systems-wide studies pave the way. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-RNA 2016; 7:772-792. [PMID: 27230797 PMCID: PMC5111744 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Revised: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The malaria parasite Plasmodium spp. varies the expression profile of its genes depending on the host it resides in and its developmental stage. Virtually all messenger RNA (mRNA) is expressed in a monocistronic manner, with transcriptional activation regulated at the epigenetic level and by specialized transcription factors. Furthermore, recent systems-wide studies have identified distinct mechanisms of post-transcriptional and translational control at various points of the parasite lifecycle. Taken together, it is evident that 'just-in-time' transcription and translation strategies coexist and coordinate protein expression during Plasmodium development, some of which we review here. In particular, we discuss global and specific mechanisms that control protein translation in blood stages of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, once a cytoplasmic mRNA has been generated, and its crosstalk with mRNA decay and storage. We also focus on the widespread translational delay observed during the 48-hour blood stage lifecycle of P. falciparum-for over 30% of transcribed genes, including virulence factors required to invade erythrocytes-and its regulation by cis-elements in the mRNA, RNA-processing enzymes and RNA-binding proteins; the first-characterized amongst these are the DNA- and RNA-binding Alba proteins. More generally, we conclude that translational regulation is an emerging research field in malaria parasites and propose that its elucidation will not only shed light on the complex developmental program of this parasite, but may also reveal mechanisms contributing to drug resistance and define new targets for malaria intervention strategies. WIREs RNA 2016, 7:772-792. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1365 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shruthi Sridhar Vembar
- Unité Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
| | - Dorothea Droll
- Unité Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Artur Scherf
- Unité Biologie des Interactions Hôte-Parasite, Département de Parasites et Insectes Vecteurs, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
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