Distinct adaptations of a gametocyte ABC transporter to murine and human Plasmodium parasites and its incompatibility in cross-species complementation.

Autor: Kenthirapalan S; Parasitology Unit, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, 10117 Berlin, Germany., Tran PN; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia., Kooij TWA; Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands., Ridgway MC; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia., Rauch M; Parasitology Unit, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Dept. of Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Biology, Humboldt University, 10115 Berlin, Germany., Brown SHJ; School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia., Mitchell TW; Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia., Matuschewski K; Parasitology Unit, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Dept. of Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Biology, Humboldt University, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: kai.matuschewski@hu-berlin.de., Maier AG; Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia. Electronic address: alex.maier@anu.edu.au.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: International journal for parasitology [Int J Parasitol] 2020 Jun; Vol. 50 (6-7), pp. 511-522. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 May 21.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2020.03.009
Abstrakt: Parasites of the genus Plasmodium infect a wide range of mammalian hosts including humans, primates, bats and arboreal rodents. A hallmark of Plasmodium spp. is the very narrow host range, indicative of matching parasite-host coevolution. Accordingly, their respective genomes harbour many unique genes and gene families that typically encode proteins involved in host cell recognition and remodelling. Whether and to what extent conserved proteins that are shared across Plasmodium spp. also exert distinct species-specific roles remains largely untested. Here, we present detailed functional profiling of the female gametocyte-specific ATP-binding cassette transporter gABCG2 in the murine parasite Plasmodium berghei and compare our findings with data from the orthologous gene in the human parasite Plasmodium falciparum. We show that P. berghei gABCG2 is female-specific and continues to be expressed in zygotes and ookinetes. In contrast to a distinct localization to Iipid-rich gametocyte-specific spots as observed in P. falciparum, the murine malaria parasite homolog is found at the parasite plasma membrane. Plasmodium berghei lacking gABCG2 displays fast asexual blood-stage replication and increased proportions of female gametocytes, consistent with the corresponding P. falciparum knock-out phenotype. Strikingly, cross-species replacement of gABCG2 in either the murine or the human parasite did not restore normal growth rates. The lack of successful complementation despite high conservation across Plasmodium spp. is an indicator of distinct adaptations and tight parasite-host coevolution. Hence, incompatibility of conserved genes in closely related Plasmodium spp. might be more common than previously anticipated.
(Copyright © 2020 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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