title: Plasmodium berghei plasmepsin VIII is essential for sporozoite gliding motility.
abstract: Plasmodium aspartic proteases, termed plasmepsins (PMs) play many critical roles such as haemoglobin degradation, cleavage of PEXEL proteins and sporozoite development in the parasite life cycle. Most of the plasmepsins are well characterized, however the role of PM VIII in Plasmodium remains unknown. Here, we elucidate the functions of PM VIII (PBANKA_132910) in the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei (Pb). By targeted gene deletion, we show that PbPM VIII is critical for sporozoite egress from an oocyst and gliding motility, which is a prerequisite for the invasion of salivary glands and subsequent transmission to the vertebrate host.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, India.
authors.forename: Babu S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Mastan
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India.
authors.forename: Sunil Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Narwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, India.
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dey
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, India. Electronic address: kaksl@uohyd.ernet.in.
authors.forename: Kota Arun
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Division of Parasitology, CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow 226031, India. Electronic address: satish.mishra@cdri.res.in.
authors.forename: Satish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mishra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000469:parasitology; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009033:Culicidae / Q000469:parasitology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D033661:Oocysts / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000469:parasitology; D034101:Sporozoites / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C089643:plasmepsin
keywords: Gliding motility; Invasion; Malaria; Oocyst; Plasmepsin; Plasmodium