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A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum

Sexual reproduction and meiotic sex are deeply rooted in the eukaryotic tree of life, but mechanisms determining sex or mating types are extremely varied and are only well characterized in a few model organisms(1). In malaria parasites, sexual reproduction coincides with transmission to the vector h...

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Autores principales: Gomes, A. R., Marin-Menendez, A., Adjalley, S. H., Bardy, C., Cassan, C., Lee, M. C. S., Talman, A. M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9750867/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36477538
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05509-z
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author Gomes, A. R.
Marin-Menendez, A.
Adjalley, S. H.
Bardy, C.
Cassan, C.
Lee, M. C. S.
Talman, A. M.
author_facet Gomes, A. R.
Marin-Menendez, A.
Adjalley, S. H.
Bardy, C.
Cassan, C.
Lee, M. C. S.
Talman, A. M.
author_sort Gomes, A. R.
collection PubMed
description Sexual reproduction and meiotic sex are deeply rooted in the eukaryotic tree of life, but mechanisms determining sex or mating types are extremely varied and are only well characterized in a few model organisms(1). In malaria parasites, sexual reproduction coincides with transmission to the vector host. Sex determination is non-genetic, with each haploid parasite capable of producing either a male or a female gametocyte in the human host(2). The hierarchy of events and molecular mechanisms that trigger sex determination and maintenance of sexual identity are yet to be elucidated. Here we show that the male development 1 (md1) gene is both necessary and sufficient for male fate determination in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. We show that Md1 has a dual function stemming from two separate domains: in sex determination through its N terminus and in male development from its conserved C-terminal LOTUS/OST-HTH domain. We further identify a bistable switch at the md1 locus, which is coupled with sex determination and ensures that the male-determining gene is not expressed in the female lineage. We describe one of only a few known non-genetic mechanisms of sex determination in a eukaryote and highlight Md1 as a potential target for interventions that block malaria transmission.
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spelling pubmed-97508672022-12-16 A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum Gomes, A. R. Marin-Menendez, A. Adjalley, S. H. Bardy, C. Cassan, C. Lee, M. C. S. Talman, A. M. Nature Article Sexual reproduction and meiotic sex are deeply rooted in the eukaryotic tree of life, but mechanisms determining sex or mating types are extremely varied and are only well characterized in a few model organisms(1). In malaria parasites, sexual reproduction coincides with transmission to the vector host. Sex determination is non-genetic, with each haploid parasite capable of producing either a male or a female gametocyte in the human host(2). The hierarchy of events and molecular mechanisms that trigger sex determination and maintenance of sexual identity are yet to be elucidated. Here we show that the male development 1 (md1) gene is both necessary and sufficient for male fate determination in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. We show that Md1 has a dual function stemming from two separate domains: in sex determination through its N terminus and in male development from its conserved C-terminal LOTUS/OST-HTH domain. We further identify a bistable switch at the md1 locus, which is coupled with sex determination and ensures that the male-determining gene is not expressed in the female lineage. We describe one of only a few known non-genetic mechanisms of sex determination in a eukaryote and highlight Md1 as a potential target for interventions that block malaria transmission. Nature Publishing Group UK 2022-12-07 2022 /pmc/articles/PMC9750867/ /pubmed/36477538 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05509-z Text en © The Author(s) 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Article
Gomes, A. R.
Marin-Menendez, A.
Adjalley, S. H.
Bardy, C.
Cassan, C.
Lee, M. C. S.
Talman, A. M.
A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum
title A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum
title_full A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum
title_fullStr A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum
title_full_unstemmed A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum
title_short A transcriptional switch controls sex determination in Plasmodium falciparum
title_sort transcriptional switch controls sex determination in plasmodium falciparum
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9750867/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36477538
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05509-z
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