@article{SchusterLisackSubotaetal.2021, author = {Schuster, Sarah and Lisack, Jaime and Subota, Ines and Zimmermann, Henriette and Reuter, Christian and Mueller, Tobias and Morriswood, Brooke and Engstler, Markus}, title = {Unexpected plasiticty in the life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei}, series = {eLife}, volume = {10}, journal = {eLife}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.66028.sa2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261744}, year = {2021}, abstract = {African trypanosomes cause sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. These unicellular parasites are transmitted by the bloodsucking tsetse fly. In the mammalian host's circulation, proliferating slender stage cells differentiate into cell cycle-arrested stumpy stage cells when they reach high population densities. This stage transition is thought to fulfil two main functions: first, it auto-regulates the parasite load in the host; second, the stumpy stage is regarded as the only stage capable of successful vector transmission. Here, we show that proliferating slender stage trypanosomes express the mRNA and protein of a known stumpy stage marker, complete the complex life cycle in the fly as successfully as the stumpy stage, and require only a single parasite for productive infection. These findings suggest a reassessment of the traditional view of the trypanosome life cycle. They may also provide a solution to a long-lasting paradox, namely the successful transmission of parasites in chronic infections, despite low parasitemia.}, language = {en} } @article{TalmanPrietoMarquesetal.2014, author = {Talman, Arthur M. and Prieto, Judith H. and Marques, Sara and Ubaida-Mohien, Ceereena and Lawniczak, Mara and Wass, Mark N. and Xu, Tao and Frank, Roland and Ecker, Andrea and Stanway, Rebecca S. and Krishna, Sanjeev and Sternberg, Michael J. E. and Christophides, Georges K. and Graham, David R. and Dinglasan, Rhoel R. and Yates, John R., III and Sinden, Robert E.}, title = {Proteomic analysis of the Plasmodium male gamete reveals the key role for glycolysis in flagellar motility}, series = {Malaria Journal}, volume = {13}, journal = {Malaria Journal}, number = {315}, doi = {10.1186/1475-2875-13-315}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115572}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background: Gametogenesis and fertilization play crucial roles in malaria transmission. While male gametes are thought to be amongst the simplest eukaryotic cells and are proven targets of transmission blocking immunity, little is known about their molecular organization. For example, the pathway of energy metabolism that power motility, a feature that facilitates gamete encounter and fertilization, is unknown. Methods: Plasmodium berghei microgametes were purified and analysed by whole-cell proteomic analysis for the first time. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001163. Results: 615 proteins were recovered, they included all male gamete proteins described thus far. Amongst them were the 11 enzymes of the glycolytic pathway. The hexose transporter was localized to the gamete plasma membrane and it was shown that microgamete motility can be suppressed effectively by inhibitors of this transporter and of the glycolytic pathway. Conclusions: This study describes the first whole-cell proteomic analysis of the malaria male gamete. It identifies glycolysis as the likely exclusive source of energy for flagellar beat, and provides new insights in original features of Plasmodium flagellar organization.}, language = {en} }