Vital role for the Plasmodium actin capping protein (CP) beta-subunit in motility of malaria sporozoites
Open Access
- 1 December 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Molecular Microbiology
- Vol. 74 (6), 1356-1367
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2958.2009.06828.x
Abstract
P>Successful malaria transmission from the mosquito vector to the mammalian host depends crucially on active sporozoite motility. Sporozoite locomotion and host cell invasion are driven by the parasite's own actin/myosin motor. A unique feature of this motor machinery is the presence of very short subpellicular actin filaments. Therefore, F-actin stabilizing proteins likely play a central role in parasite locomotion. Here, we investigated the role of the Plasmodium berghei actin capping protein (PbCP), an orthologue of the heterodimeric regulator of filament barbed end growth, by reverse genetics. Parasites containing a deletion of the CP beta-subunit developed normally during the pathogenic erythrocytic cycle. However, due to reduced ookinete motility, mutant parasites form fewer oocysts and sporozoites in the Anopheles vector. These sporozoites display a vital deficiency in forward gliding motility and fail to colonize the mosquito salivary glands, resulting in complete attenuation of life cycle progression. Together, our results show that the CP beta-subunit exerts an essential role in the insect vector before malaria transmission to the mammalian host. The vital role is restricted to fast locomotion, as displayed by Plasmodium sporozoites.Keywords
This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- New Insights into Mechanism and Regulation of Actin Capping ProteinInternational Review of Cell and Molecular Biology, 2008
- A Malaria Parasite Formin Regulates Actin Polymerization and Localizes to the Parasite-Erythrocyte Moving Junction during InvasionCell Host & Microbe, 2008
- Progression of Plasmodium berghei through Anopheles stephensi Is Density-DependentPLoS Pathogens, 2007
- Female Inheritance of Malarial lap Genes Is Essential for Mosquito TransmissionPLoS Pathogens, 2007
- Structural basis of actin filament capping at the barbed-end: a cryo-electron microscopy studyThe EMBO Journal, 2006
- Plasmodium motility: actin not actin' like actinTrends in Parasitology, 2006
- Malaria Parasite Actin Filaments are Very ShortJournal of Molecular Biology, 2005
- Unusual properties of Plasmodium falciparum actin: new insights into microfilament dynamics of apicomplexan parasitesFEBS Letters, 2004
- SWISS‐MODEL and the Swiss‐Pdb Viewer: An environment for comparative protein modelingElectrophoresis, 1997
- Ultrastructural analysis of the dynactin complex: an actin-related protein is a component of a filament that resembles F-actin.The Journal of cell biology, 1994