Sex in human malaria parasites

Summary In this project we will use CRISPR gene editing to create transgenic malaria parasites, which we will study by combing proteomics, molecular and cellular biology techniques with super resolution microscopy to define the molecular players driving gametocyte development.

Project Details

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum undergoes a remarkable transformation that allows asexual stage multiplication in a human host and sexual reproduction in a mosquito vector. Gametocyte maturation represents a “bottle neck” in the parasite’s development; inhibition of this process would ablate disease transmission. This transformation sees an amoeboid shaped asexual stage parasite morph into a banana shaped sexual stage parasite, which is essential to disease transmission. Despite the importance of this stage of the parasite we understand very little about its unique biology. This unique shape is driven by the assembly of a membrane complex termed the inner membrane complex and the elaboration of a dense microtubule cytoskeleton that drives the unique gametocyte shape. In this project we will use CRISPR gene editing to create transgenic malaria parasites, which we will study by combing proteomics, molecular and cellular biology techniques with super resolution microscopy to define the molecular players driving gametocyte development. Understanding how gametocytes mature is fundamental to the development of effective means of combating this debilitating disease.