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Schwarzer E, Skorokhod O. Post-Translational Modifications of Proteins of Malaria Parasites during the Life Cycle. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6145. [PMID: 38892332 PMCID: PMC11173270 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25116145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are essential for regulating protein functions, influencing various fundamental processes in eukaryotes. These include, but are not limited to, cell signaling, protein trafficking, the epigenetic control of gene expression, and control of the cell cycle, as well as cell proliferation, differentiation, and interactions between cells. In this review, we discuss protein PTMs that play a key role in the malaria parasite biology and its pathogenesis. Phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, lipidation and lipoxidation, glycosylation, ubiquitination and sumoylation, nitrosylation and glutathionylation, all of which occur in malarial parasites, are reviewed. We provide information regarding the biological significance of these modifications along all phases of the complex life cycle of Plasmodium spp. Importantly, not only the parasite, but also the host and vector protein PTMs are often crucial for parasite growth and development. In addition to metabolic regulations, protein PTMs can result in epitopes that are able to elicit both innate and adaptive immune responses of the host or vector. We discuss some existing and prospective results from antimalarial drug discovery trials that target various PTM-related processes in the parasite or host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelin Schwarzer
- Department of Oncology, University of Turin, Via Santena 5 bis, 10126 Turin, Italy;
| | - Oleksii Skorokhod
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina, 13, 10123 Turin, Italy
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Lin J, Zeng S, Chen Q, Liu G, Pan S, Liu X. Identification of disease-related genes in Plasmodium berghei by network module analysis. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23:264. [PMID: 37735351 PMCID: PMC10512555 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-03019-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plasmodium berghei has been used as a preferred model for studying human malaria, but only a limited number of disease-associated genes of P. berghei have been reported to date. Identification of new disease-related genes as many as possible will provide a landscape for better understanding the pathogenesis of P. berghei. METHODS Network module analysis method was developed and applied to identify disease-related genes in P. berghei genome. Sequence feature identification, gene ontology annotation, and T-cell epitope analysis were performed on these genes to illustrate their functions in the pathogenesis of P. berghei. RESULTS 33,314 genes were classified into 4,693 clusters. 4,127 genes shared by six malaria parasites were identified and are involved in many aspects of biological processes. Most of the known essential genes belong to shared genes. A total of 63 clusters consisting of 405 P. berghei genes were enriched in rodent malaria parasites. These genes participate in various stages of parasites such as liver stage development and immune evasion. Combination of these genes might be responsible for P. berghei infecting mice. Comparing with P. chabaudi, none of the clusters were specific to P. berghei. P. berghei lacks some proteins belonging to P. chabaudi and possesses some specific T-cell epitopes binding by class-I MHC, which might together contribute to the occurrence of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). CONCLUSIONS We successfully identified disease-associated P. berghei genes by network module analysis. These results will deepen understanding of the pathogenesis of P. berghei and provide candidate parasite genes for further ECM investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junhao Lin
- Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Shan Zeng
- Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Qiong Chen
- Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Guanghui Liu
- Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Suyue Pan
- Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
| | - Xuewu Liu
- Department of Neurology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
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Thompson TA, Chahine Z, Le Roch KG. The role of long noncoding RNAs in malaria parasites. Trends Parasitol 2023; 39:517-531. [PMID: 37121862 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2023.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The human malaria parasites, including Plasmodium falciparum, persist as a major cause of global morbidity and mortality. The recent stalling of progress toward malaria elimination substantiates a need for novel interventions. Controlled gene expression is central to the parasite's numerous life cycle transformations and adaptation. With few specific transcription factors (TFs) identified, crucial roles for chromatin states and epigenetics in parasite transcription have become evident. Although many chromatin-modifying enzymes are known, less is known about which factors mediate their impacts on transcriptional variation. Like those of higher eukaryotes, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been shown to have integral roles in parasite gene regulation. This review aims to summarize recent developments and key findings on the role of lncRNAs in P. falciparum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor A Thompson
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Zeinab Chahine
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Karine G Le Roch
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California Riverside, CA, USA.
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Connacher J, von Grüning H, Birkholtz L. Histone Modification Landscapes as a Roadmap for Malaria Parasite Development. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:848797. [PMID: 35433676 PMCID: PMC9010790 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.848797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum remains the deadliest parasite species in the world, responsible for 229 million cases of human malaria in 2019. The ability of the P. falciparum parasite to progress through multiple life cycle stages and thrive in diverse host and vector species hinges on sophisticated mechanisms of epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Emerging evidence indicates such epigenetic control exists in concentric layers, revolving around core histone post-translational modification (PTM) landscapes. Here, we provide a necessary update of recent epigenome research in malaria parasites, focusing specifically on the ability of dynamic histone PTM landscapes to orchestrate the divergent development and differentiation pathways in P. falciparum parasites. In addition to individual histone PTMs, we discuss recent findings that imply functional importance for combinatorial PTMs in P. falciparum parasites, representing an operational histone code. Finally, this review highlights the remaining gaps and provides strategies to address these to obtain a more thorough understanding of the histone modification landscapes that are at the center of epigenetic regulation in human malaria parasites.
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Wang Y, Liu S, Wang J, Yao Y, Chen Y, Xu Q, Zhao Z, Chen N. Diatom Biodiversity and Speciation Revealed by Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial Genomes. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:749982. [PMID: 35401648 PMCID: PMC8987724 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.749982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) constitute one of the most diverse and ecologically significant groups of phytoplankton, comprising 100,000-200,000 species in three classes Bacillariophyceae, Mediophyceae, and Coscinodiscophyceae. However, due to the limited resolution of common molecular markers including 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, ITS, rbcL, and cox1, diatom biodiversity has not been adequately ascertained. Organelle genomes including mitochondrial genomes (mtDNAs) have been proposed to be "super barcodes" for distinguishing diatom species because of their rich genomic content, and the rapid progress of DNA sequencing technologies that has made it possible to construct mtDNAs with increasing throughout and decreasing cost. Here, we constructed complete mtDNAs of 15 diatom species including five Coscinodiscophyceae species (Guinardia delicatula, Guinardia striata, Stephanopyxis turris, Paralia sulcata, and Actinocyclus sp.), four Mediophyceae species (Hemiaulus sinensis, Odontella aurita var. minima, Lithodesmioides sp., and Helicotheca tamesis), and six Bacillariophyceae species (Nitzschia ovalis, Nitzschia sp., Nitzschia traheaformis, Cylindrotheca closterium, Haslea tsukamotoi, and Pleurosigma sp.) to test the practicality of using mtDNAs as super barcodes. We found that mtDNAs have much higher resolution compared to common molecular markers as expected. Comparative analysis of mtDNAs also suggested that mtDNAs are valuable in evolutionary studies by revealing extensive genome rearrangement events with gene duplications, gene losses, and gains and losses of introns. Synteny analyses of mtDNAs uncovered high conservation among species within an order, but extensive rearrangements including translocations and/or inversions between species of different orders within a class. Duplication of cox1 was discovered for the first time in diatoms in Nitzschia traheaformis and Haslea tsukamotoi. Molecular dating analysis revealed that the three diatom classes split 100 Mya and many diatom species appeared since 50 Mya. In conclusion, more diatom mtDNAs representing different orders will play great dividends to explore biodiversity and speciation of diatoms in different ecological regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichao Wang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- College of Planetary and Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Shuya Liu
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Yanxin Yao
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- College of Planetary and Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Yang Chen
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- College of Planetary and Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Qing Xu
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zengxia Zhao
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Jiaozhou Bay National Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
| | - Nansheng Chen
- Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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