Phosphorylation of myosin A regulates Plasmodium sporozoite motility and is essential for efficient malaria transmission

Malaria-causing parasites rely on an actin-myosin based motor for the invasion of different host cells as well as tissue traversal in mosquitoes and vertebrates. The unusual myosin A of Plasmodium spp. has a unique N-terminal extension which is important for red blood cell invasion by P. falciparum...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Ripp, Johanna, Smyrnakou, Xanthoula, Neuhoff, Marie-Therese, Frischknecht, Friedrich
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 29.03.2021
Subjects
Actin
Culicidae
Disease transmission
Erythrocytes
Malaria
Merozoites
Mosquitoes
Motility
Myosin
Parasites
Phosphorylation
Plasmodium
Salivary gland
Serine
Sporozoites
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Summary:Malaria-causing parasites rely on an actin-myosin based motor for the invasion of different host cells as well as tissue traversal in mosquitoes and vertebrates. The unusual myosin A of Plasmodium spp. has a unique N-terminal extension which is important for red blood cell invasion by P. falciparum merozoites in vitro and harbors a phosphorylation site at serine 19. Here, using the rodent-infecting P. berghei we show that serine 19 is essential for efficient transmission of Plasmodium by mosquitoes as S19A mutants show defects in mosquito salivary gland entry and migration of salivary gland sporozoites in both 2D and 3D environments. Our data suggests that entry into salivary glands represents the strongest barrier in parasite transmission and hence is the key determinant for evolution of the motility and invasion machinery of these parasites. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
DOI:10.1101/2021.03.29.437488