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Updated: Jul 5, 2025

CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing to Make Conditional Mutants of Human Malaria Parasite P. falciparum
Published on: September 18, 2018
Antimalarial target vulnerability of the putative Plasmodium falciparum methionine synthase
Nirut Leela1, Parichat Prommana2, Sumalee Kamchonwongpaisan2
1Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand.
Background:
Plasmodium falciparum possesses a cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase (MS). MS is putatively encoded by the PF3D7_1233700 gene, which is orthologous and syntenic in Plasmodium. However, its vulnerability as an antimalarial target has not been assessed.
Methods:
We edited the PF3D7_1233700 and PF3D7_0417200 (dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase, DHFR-TS) genes and obtained transgenic P. falciparum parasites expressing epitope-tagged target proteins under the control of the glmS ribozyme. Conditional loss-of-function mutants were obtained by treating transgenic parasites with glucosamine.
Results:
DHFR-TS, but not MS mutants showed a significant proliferation defect over 96 h, suggesting that P. falciparum MS is not a vulnerable antimalarial target.
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