TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schuster, Sarah
A1  - Lisack, Jaime
A1  - Subota, Ines
A1  - Zimmermann, Henriette
A1  - Reuter, Christian
A1  - Mueller, Tobias
A1  - Morriswood, Brooke
A1  - Engstler, Markus
T1  - Unexpected plasiticty in the life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei
JF  - eLife
N2  - 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.
KW  - trypanosoma
KW  - sleeping sickness
KW  - tsetse fly
KW  - transmission
KW  - life cycle
KW  - development
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261744
VL  - 10
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Talman, Arthur M.
A1  - Prieto, Judith H.
A1  - Marques, Sara
A1  - Ubaida-Mohien, Ceereena
A1  - Lawniczak, Mara
A1  - Wass, Mark N.
A1  - Xu, Tao
A1  - Frank, Roland
A1  - Ecker, Andrea
A1  - Stanway, Rebecca S.
A1  - Krishna, Sanjeev
A1  - Sternberg, Michael J. E.
A1  - Christophides, Georges K.
A1  - Graham, David R.
A1  - Dinglasan, Rhoel R.
A1  - Yates, John R., III
A1  - Sinden, Robert E.
T1  - Proteomic analysis of the Plasmodium male gamete reveals the key role for glycolysis in flagellar motility
JF  - Malaria Journal
N2  - 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.
KW  - glycolysis
KW  - gamete
KW  - energy metabolism
KW  - tandem mass-spectra
KW  - YoelII-Nigeriensis
KW  - haemoproteus-columbae
KW  - chlamydomonas flagella
KW  - life cycle
KW  - microtubule motor
KW  - hexose transporter
KW  - membrane-protein topology
KW  - malaria parasite
KW  - subcellular localization
KW  - flagellum
KW  - plasmodium
Y1  - 2014
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-115572
N1  - Additional files are available here: http://www.malariajournal.com/content/13/1/315/additional
VL  - 13
IS  - 315
ER  -