Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

High Yield Purification of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites For Use in Opsonizing Antibody Assays
10:38

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

Published on: July 17, 2014

Deconstructing export of malaria proteins

Serge Bonnefoy1, Robert Ménard

  • 1Institut Pasteur, Unité d'Immunologie Moléculaire des Parasites, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.

Cell
|July 11, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Researchers screened malaria parasite genes essential for virulence. Many more genes than anticipated are crucial for Plasmodium falciparum survival in vitro.

Area of Science:

  • Malariology
  • Molecular Parasitology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum causes severe disease.
  • Parasite virulence relies on proteins exported to the surface of infected red blood cells.

Discussion:

  • Maier et al. screened genes involved in protein export and trafficking within erythrocytes.
  • This research identified a larger set of essential genes for parasite survival than previously recognized.

Key Insights:

  • Many Plasmodium falciparum genes predicted to function in protein export and trafficking are essential for parasite survival in vitro.
  • This finding highlights the complexity of the parasite's export machinery.

Outlook:

  • Further investigation into these essential genes could reveal novel drug targets.
  • This work provides a foundation for understanding Plasmodium falciparum pathogenesis and survival.

More Related Videos

Methods to Investigate the Regulatory Role of Small RNAs and Ribosomal Occupancy of Plasmodium falciparum10:22

Methods to Investigate the Regulatory Role of Small RNAs and Ribosomal Occupancy of Plasmodium falciparum

Published on: December 4, 2015

Understanding the Development of Compensatory Pathways in a Mutant Malaria Parasite Harbouring Hypomorphic Allele of Plant-Like Kinases09:13

Understanding the Development of Compensatory Pathways in a Mutant Malaria Parasite Harbouring Hypomorphic Allele of Plant-Like Kinases

Published on: November 22, 2024

Related Concept Videos

Export of Misfolded Proteins out of the ER01:32

Export of Misfolded Proteins out of the ER

After folding, the ER assesses the quality of secretory and membrane proteins. The correctly folded proteins are cleared by the calnexin cycle for transport to their final destination, while misfolded proteins are held back in the ER lumen. The ER chaperones attempt to unfold and refold the misfolded proteins but sometimes fail to achieve the correct native conformation. Such terminally misfolded proteins are then exported to the cytosol by ER-associated degradation or ERAD pathway for...
ABC Transporters: Exporter01:31

ABC Transporters: Exporter

ATP-binding cassette or ABC transporter is the largest superfamily of integral membrane proteins. The transporters have transmembrane-binding domains (TMDs) and nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs). The TMDs are specific to their substrates, whereas the NBDs are similar to engines that complete ATP hydrolysis to complete the substrate transport. They can be full transporters consisting of two TMDs and NBDs, half transporters with one TMD and NBD, while some encoded with a single TMD or NBD are...
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...