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A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector

Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage gametocytes are critical for parasite transmission from the human host to the mosquito vector. Mature gametocytes generate fertile male (micro-) or female (macro-) gametes upon activation inside the mosquito midgut. While a number of parasite genes have been descri...

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Autores principales: Kumar, Sudhir, Abatiyow, Biley A., Haile, Meseret T., Oualim, Kenza M. Z., Leeb, Amanda S., Vaughan, Ashley M., Kappe, Stefan H.I.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9022223/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35465336
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2022.825247
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author Kumar, Sudhir
Abatiyow, Biley A.
Haile, Meseret T.
Oualim, Kenza M. Z.
Leeb, Amanda S.
Vaughan, Ashley M.
Kappe, Stefan H.I.
author_facet Kumar, Sudhir
Abatiyow, Biley A.
Haile, Meseret T.
Oualim, Kenza M. Z.
Leeb, Amanda S.
Vaughan, Ashley M.
Kappe, Stefan H.I.
author_sort Kumar, Sudhir
collection PubMed
description Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage gametocytes are critical for parasite transmission from the human host to the mosquito vector. Mature gametocytes generate fertile male (micro-) or female (macro-) gametes upon activation inside the mosquito midgut. While a number of parasite genes have been described that are critical for P. falciparum gametogenesis and fertility, no parasite gene has been shown to have a unique function in macrogametes. The genome of P. falciparum encodes numerous RNA-binding proteins. We identified a novel protein containing a putative RNA-binding domain, which we named Macrogamete-Contributed Factor Essential for Transmission (MaCFET). This protein is expressed in the asexual and sexual stages. Parasites that carry a deletion of MaCFET (Pfmacfet¯), developed normally as asexual stages, indicating that its function is not essential for the asexual proliferation of the parasite in vitro. Furthermore, Pfmacfet¯ male and female gametocytes developed normally and underwent activation to form microgametes and macrogametes. However, by utilizing genetic crosses, we demonstrate that Pfmacfet¯ parasites suffer a complete female-specific defect in successful fertilization. Therefore, PfMaCFET is a critical female-contributed factor for parasite transmission to the mosquito. Based on its putative RNA-binding properties, PfMaCFET might be in involved in the regulation of mRNAs that encode female-specific functions for fertilization or female-contributed factors needed post fertilization.
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spelling pubmed-90222232022-04-22 A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector Kumar, Sudhir Abatiyow, Biley A. Haile, Meseret T. Oualim, Kenza M. Z. Leeb, Amanda S. Vaughan, Ashley M. Kappe, Stefan H.I. Front Cell Dev Biol Cell and Developmental Biology Plasmodium falciparum sexual stage gametocytes are critical for parasite transmission from the human host to the mosquito vector. Mature gametocytes generate fertile male (micro-) or female (macro-) gametes upon activation inside the mosquito midgut. While a number of parasite genes have been described that are critical for P. falciparum gametogenesis and fertility, no parasite gene has been shown to have a unique function in macrogametes. The genome of P. falciparum encodes numerous RNA-binding proteins. We identified a novel protein containing a putative RNA-binding domain, which we named Macrogamete-Contributed Factor Essential for Transmission (MaCFET). This protein is expressed in the asexual and sexual stages. Parasites that carry a deletion of MaCFET (Pfmacfet¯), developed normally as asexual stages, indicating that its function is not essential for the asexual proliferation of the parasite in vitro. Furthermore, Pfmacfet¯ male and female gametocytes developed normally and underwent activation to form microgametes and macrogametes. However, by utilizing genetic crosses, we demonstrate that Pfmacfet¯ parasites suffer a complete female-specific defect in successful fertilization. Therefore, PfMaCFET is a critical female-contributed factor for parasite transmission to the mosquito. Based on its putative RNA-binding properties, PfMaCFET might be in involved in the regulation of mRNAs that encode female-specific functions for fertilization or female-contributed factors needed post fertilization. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-04-04 /pmc/articles/PMC9022223/ /pubmed/35465336 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2022.825247 Text en Copyright © 2022 Kumar, Abatiyow, Haile, Oualim, Leeb, Vaughan and Kappe. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Cell and Developmental Biology
Kumar, Sudhir
Abatiyow, Biley A.
Haile, Meseret T.
Oualim, Kenza M. Z.
Leeb, Amanda S.
Vaughan, Ashley M.
Kappe, Stefan H.I.
A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector
title A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector
title_full A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector
title_fullStr A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector
title_full_unstemmed A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector
title_short A Putative Plasmodium RNA-Binding Protein Plays a Critical Role in Female Gamete Fertility and Parasite Transmission to the Mosquito Vector
title_sort putative plasmodium rna-binding protein plays a critical role in female gamete fertility and parasite transmission to the mosquito vector
topic Cell and Developmental Biology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9022223/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35465336
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2022.825247
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