Centromeric plasmids and artificial chromosomes: new kids on the Plasmodium transfection block.
In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Iwanaga and colleagues (Iwanaga et al., 2010) report on the construction of plasmids and artificial chromosomes that are stably maintained throughout the Plasmodium life cycle. These new tools will have multiple applications, from episome-based genetic strategies to studies on telomere biology and antigenic variation.
Unité d'Immunologie Moléculaire des Parasites, URA CNRS 2581, Département de Parasitologie et de Mycologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Jean-Christophe
JC
Barale
Robert
R
Ménard