Deligianni Elena, Andreadaki Maria, Koutsouris Konstantinos, Siden-Kiamos Inga
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Heraklion, Greece.
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Heraklion, Greece; Department of Biology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.
Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2018 Mar;220:15-18. doi: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Jan 4.
Plasmodium parasites develop within red blood cells in a Parasitophorous Vacuole enclosed by a Membrane, the PVM. The protein family ETRAMP (Early Transcribed Membrane Protein) comprises small proteins inserted in the PVM via a single transmembrane domain. Among those, Pfs16 is specifically found in P. falciparum gametocyte PVM. The P. berghei gene PBANKA_1003900 is syntenic with pfs16. The encoded proteins have a similar domain structure but the overall protein similarity is low. A transcript of the P. berghei gene is only found in gametocytes and ookinetes and a C-terminal mCherry fusion of the protein revealed its presence only in gametocytes. A knock-out mutant of the PBANKA_1003900 gene was not affected in sexual development and ookinete formation was similar to WT. The mutation had no adverse effect on transmission through the mosquito although there was a reduction of the number of oocysts formed by the mutant parasites.
疟原虫寄生于红细胞内的一个由膜（即寄生泡膜，PVM）包裹的寄生泡中。ETRAMP（早期转录膜蛋白）蛋白家族包含通过单个跨膜结构域插入寄生泡膜的小蛋白。其中，Pfs16 特异性存在于恶性疟原虫配子体的寄生泡膜中。伯氏疟原虫基因 PBANKA_1003900 与 pfs16 是同线基因。编码的蛋白质具有相似的结构域结构，但整体蛋白质相似性较低。伯氏疟原虫基因的转录本仅在配子体和动合子中发现，该蛋白的 C 末端 mCherry 融合蛋白显示其仅存在于配子体中。PBANKA_1003900 基因的敲除突变体在有性发育方面未受影响，动合子形成与野生型相似。该突变对通过蚊子传播没有不利影响，尽管突变寄生虫形成的卵囊数量有所减少。
