Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Culture and Mosquito Infection Through Artificial Membrane Feeding
09:23

Plasmodium falciparum Gametocyte Culture and Mosquito Infection Through Artificial Membrane Feeding

Published on: July 3, 2020

MSP8 is a non-essential merozoite surface protein in Plasmodium falciparum

Casilda G Black1, Tieqiao Wu, Lina Wang

  • 1Department of Microbiology and the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia. casilda.black@med.monash.edu.au

Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
|August 30, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Merozoite surface protein 8 (MSP8) is not essential for Plasmodium falciparum asexual growth. Gene knockout confirmed MSP8 is dispensable for parasite replication and doesn't affect other merozoite surface proteins.

Area of Science:

  • Malariology
  • Parasitology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Merozoite surface protein 8 (MSP8) shares structural similarities with MSP1, a key Plasmodium falciparum vaccine candidate.
  • Both MSP8 and MSP1 possess C-terminal EGF-like domains and are GPI-anchored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of MSP8 in the asexual blood stage of Plasmodium falciparum.
  • To determine if MSP8 is essential for parasite growth and replication in vitro.

Main Methods:

  • Gene disruption of MSP8 in P. falciparum 3D7 using double recombination.
  • Confirmation of gene integration via Southern hybridization and PCR.
  • Western blot analysis to confirm MSP8 absence in knockout lines.
  • Growth rate assays and expression analysis of other merozoite surface proteins.

Main Results:

  • Two cloned P. falciparum lines with a disrupted MSP8 gene (DeltaMSP8) were successfully generated.
  • MSP8 was undetectable in DeltaMSP8 lines, confirming gene knockout.
  • No significant difference in growth rate was observed between wild-type and DeltaMSP8 lines.
  • Loss of MSP8 did not affect the expression of MSP1-5, MSP7, and MSP10.

Conclusions:

  • MSP8 is not essential for asexual stage growth and replication of P. falciparum in vitro.
  • Unlike MSP1, MSP8's absence does not impact parasite viability or the expression of other critical merozoite surface proteins.

More Related Videos

CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing to Make Conditional Mutants of Human Malaria Parasite P. falciparum09:25

CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing to Make Conditional Mutants of Human Malaria Parasite P. falciparum

Published on: September 18, 2018

High Yield Purification of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites For Use in Opsonizing Antibody Assays10:38

High Yield Purification of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites For Use in Opsonizing Antibody Assays

Published on: July 17, 2014

Related Concept Videos

Malaria01:29

Malaria

Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
Diversity of Protists II01:27

Diversity of Protists II

Alveolates are a group of organisms recognized by the presence of alveoli, which are cytoplasmic sacs located beneath the cell membrane. While their function remains uncertain, alveoli may help regulate water balance by controlling how much water enters and leaves the cell. In dinoflagellates, these structures may serve as armor plates. There are three major types of alveolates: ciliates, which move using cilia; dinoflagellates, which use flagella for movement; and apicomplexans, which are...
Symbiosis00:58

Symbiosis

Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
Fungal Phylum Microsporidia01:28

Fungal Phylum Microsporidia

Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular fungi that were initially classified as protists but were later reclassified based on phylogenetic, molecular, and structural evidence linking them to the Chytridiomycota. These unicellular, non-motile organisms are highly specialized parasites that infect a wide range of animal hosts, including humans. They have evolved extensive genomic and metabolic reductions, making them highly dependent on their hosts for survival.Morphology and Genomic...
Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters01:19

Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters

Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...