ABSTRACT: Continual challenge of 107 ARMD Dd2 parasites with 0.3µM DSM1, a novel dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) inhibitor, reproducibly generated ~5-fold resistance and 3-fold amplification of 30-100Kb DNA, always including the DHODH gene. Subsequent 3-10µM DSM-1 pressure selected for ~10-fold amplification of the copy number variant (CNV), and over 100-fold resistance. Target-specific and genome-wide DNA sequencing revealed no additional mutations contributing to DSM1 resistance. Each DSM1-resistant clone is compared to the Dd2 parent reference sample.
Project description:While many molecular changes associated with commonly used antimalarials are known, there remain important questions on how parasites arrive at the correct causal molecular solutions in a haploid genome. We selected for resistance to DSM1, a novel dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) inhibitor with a non-biological triazolopyrimidine scaffold, in P. falciparum with the Accelerated Resistance to Multiple Drugs (ARMD) trait. While direct sequencing revealed no mutations in the target DHODH gene, comparative genomic hybridizations from four independently selected DSM1-resistant clones showed a large, single 34-95kb amplification in each clone. Each amplified region always included the DHODH locus. The length of this region and the resulting 2- to 3-fold DHODH copy number increase were verified at the RNA and protein level. DSM1 resistance was stable over several months of in vitro culture. Additional selection at higher DSM1 concentrations caused further gains in CNVs at the DHODH locus. The present system validated DHODH as a key target of the triazolopyrimidine antimalarial, DSM1 and, more importantly, captured large, random CNVs as an early step in the initiation of drug resistance in malaria parasites. This defined system is expected to be valuable for characterizing early, causal molecular steps leading to successful drug resistance gDNA from P. falciparum DSM1 resistant cell-line was hybridized against gDNA of parental strain, Dd2. DSM1 resistant cell culture was maintained under DSM1 at 333 nM, microarray data were obtained from three hybridizations using gDNA from three independent parasite cultures
Project description:While many molecular changes associated with commonly used antimalarials are known, there remain important questions on how parasites arrive at the correct causal molecular solutions in a haploid genome. We selected for resistance to DSM1, a novel dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) inhibitor with a non-biological triazolopyrimidine scaffold, in P. falciparum with the Accelerated Resistance to Multiple Drugs (ARMD) trait. While direct sequencing revealed no mutations in the target DHODH gene, comparative genomic hybridizations from four independently selected DSM1-resistant clones showed a large, single 34-95kb amplification in each clone. Each amplified region always included the DHODH locus. The length of this region and the resulting 2- to 3-fold DHODH copy number increase were verified at the RNA and protein level. DSM1 resistance was stable over several months of in vitro culture. Additional selection at higher DSM1 concentrations caused further gains in CNVs at the DHODH locus. The present system validated DHODH as a key target of the triazolopyrimidine antimalarial, DSM1 and, more importantly, captured large, random CNVs as an early step in the initiation of drug resistance in malaria parasites. This defined system is expected to be valuable for characterizing early, causal molecular steps leading to successful drug resistance RNA from P. falciparum DSM1 resistant cell-line was hybridized against RNA of parental strain, Dd2. DSM1 resistant cell culture was maintained under DSM1 at 333 nM, microarray data were obtained from three hybridizations using RNA from three independent parasite cultures
Project description:Plasmodium yoelii YM asexual blood stage parasites express multiple members of the py235 gene family, part of the super-family of genes including those coding for Plasmodium vivax reticulocyte binding proteins and Plasmodium falciparum RH proteins. Dr Tony Holder's laboratory (NIMR, London) has been successful in deleting one of the RH family genes (Py01365) by transfection and insertion of the TgDHFR gene, and cloned the resulting parasite in YM background. The gene expression patterns of the mutant parasite line were compared to that of the wild type YM parasite.
Project description:Continual challenge of 107 ARMD Dd2 parasites with 0.3µM DSM1, a novel dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) inhibitor, reproducibly generated ~5-fold resistance and 3-fold amplification of 30-100Kb DNA, always including the DHODH gene. Subsequent 3-10µM DSM-1 pressure selected for ~10-fold amplification of the copy number variant (CNV), and over 100-fold resistance. Target-specific and genome-wide DNA sequencing revealed no additional mutations contributing to DSM1 resistance.
Project description:Quantitative studies of the P. falciparum transcriptome have shown that the tightly controlled progression of the parasite through the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle (IDC) is accompanied by a continuous gene expression cascade where most expressed genes exhibit a single transcriptional peak. Since proteins represent the decisive business end of gene expression, understanding the correlation between mRNA and protein levels is crucial for inferring biological activity from transcriptional gene expression data. While pertinent studies on other organisms show that as little as 20-40% of protein abundance variation may be attributable to corresponding mRNA levels, the situation in Plasmodium is further complicated by the dynamic nature of the cyclic gene expression cascade where the mRNA levels of most genes change constantly during the IDC. In this study, we simultaneously determined mRNA and protein abundance profiles for P. falciparum parasites during the IDC at 2-hour resolution based on spotted oligonucleotide microarrays and 2D-protein gels in combination with DIGE fluorescent dyes. Intriguingly, most proteins are represented by more than one isoform, presumably due to post-translational modifications. Analysis of 366 protein abundance profiles and the corresponding mRNA levels shows that in 67.2% of cases the protein abundance peaks at least 8 hours after the mRNA level peak. While it may be tempting to interpret this as evidence for widespread post-transcriptional gene regulation additional analyses including computer modeling demonstrate that in >60% of these cases the observed protein profiles including the peak lag times could arise as a consequence of the corresponding mRNA levels when simple translation and degradation dynamics are assumed. We further characterize and illustrate these dynamics and show that even human host proteins within the parasite may be subject to similar dynamics as their parasite counterparts. 24 timepoint samples were harvested from a tightly synchronous 6.5 liter biofermenter culture of P. falciparum (Dd2) at 2-hour intervals during one entire intraerythrocytic developmental cycle and compared against a 3D7 RNA reference pool.
Project description:We used a high-density tiling array to estimate genetic recombination rate among 32 independent recombinant progeny of a P. falciparum genetic cross (7G8 M-CM-^W GB4). We detected 3184 segregating multi-probe single-feature polymorphisms (mSFPs) and 638 recombination events (496 excluding those from subtelomeric regions). These data, in combination with results from 254 previously reported microsatellites, enabled us to construct a high-resolution genetic map. Comparing genetic and physical maps, we obtained an overall recombination rate of 9.6 kb/cM (12.8 kb/cM excluding subtelomeric regions) and identified 54 hotspots, some of which occurred in genes encoding surface antigens or proteins with repetitive motifs that might play a role in genetic recombination in the parasite. Motifs enriched in hotspots were also identified. In agreement with results from a previous cross (HB3 M-BM-4 Dd2), there was positive correlation between sizes of individual chromosomes and their recombination events. These results show that the P. falciparum genome is highly recombinogenic, providing an important genetic basis for parasite survival under various selection pressures. GC-rich repetitive motifs identified in the hotspot sequences may play a role in the high recombination frequency observed. Ten microgram of genomic DNA, extracted and purified from 3D7 (reference), thirty-two P. falciparum independent recombinant progeny of the 7G8 x GB4 cross, and the two parental lines (Hayton, 2008), were hybridized to the PFSANGER GenechipM-BM-. (Affymetrix, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA). The scanned image CEL files were first processed using the RMA method, then averaged and compared with reference genome 3D7, and lastly assigned either 7G8 or GB4 alleles based on similarities to the two parental lines. Total of 35 genomic DNA samples (biological replicates: 6 for 3D7, 4 for 7G8, 4 for GB4, and 2 for Pf_WE2). The supplementary file 'GSE25656_QuantNormData_Log2_AllSamples.txt' contains the RMA-normalized data for all of the samples. The supplementary files 'GSE25656_chr*' contain the parental allele assignment of each chromosome and include probe-level annotation.
Project description:Background: The cytoadherence of Plasmodium falciparum is thought to be mediated by variant surface antigens (VSA), encoded by var, rif, stevor and pfmc-2tm genes. The last three families have rarely been studied in the context of cytoadherence. As most VSA genes are unique, the variability among sequences has impeded the functional study of VSA across different P. falciparum strains. However, many P. falciparum genomes have recently been sequenced, allowing the development of specific microarray probes to each VSA gene. Methods: All VSA sequences from the HB3, Dd2 and IT/FCR3 genomes were extracted using HMMer. Oligonucleotide probes were designed with OligoRankPick and added to the 3D7-based microarray chip. As a proof of concept, IT/R29 parasites were selected for and against rosette formation and the transcriptomes of isogenic rosetting and non-rosetting parasites were compared by microarray. Results: From each parasite strain 50-56 var genes, 125-132 rif genes, 26-33 stevor genes and 3-8 pfmc-2tm genes were identified. The ability of the VSA-supplemented microarray chip to detect cytoadherence-related genes was assessed using P. falciparum clone IT/R29, in which rosetting is known to be mediated by PfEMP1 encoded by ITvar9. Whole transcriptome analysis showed that the most highly upregulated gene in rosetting parasites was ITvar9 (19 to 429-fold upregulated over six time points). Only one rif gene (IT4rifA_042) was upregulated by more than 4-fold (5-fold at 12 hours post-invasion), and no stevor or pfmc-2tm genes were upregulated by more than 2-fold. 49 non-VSA genes were upregulated in rosetting parasites by more than 3-fold in at least two time-points, although none as markedly as ITvar9. Conclusions: We demonstrate that the VSA of newly sequenced P. falciparum strains can be added to the 3D7-based microarray chip, allowing the analysis of the entire transcriptome of multiple strains. For the rosetting clone IT/R29, the striking transcriptional upregulation of ITvar9 was confirmed, and the data did not support the involvement of other VSA families in rosette formation. Plasmodium falciparum parasites, strain IT/R29, were selected for (R29R+) or against (R29R-) rosetting. Both cultures (R29R+ and R29R-) were tightly synchronised before a timecourse experiment was performed. 6 samples, named time points 1 to 6, were taken every 8 hours. 12μg of RNA from the R29 non-rosetting parasites at each of the 6 time points was combined together to form the reference pool. The pool and 12μg of each individual time point sample from both rosetting and non-rosetting parasites were then used for cDNA synthesis. For microarray hybridizations,each cDNA sample was coupled to Cy5 (red dye) while Cy3 (green dye) was added to the pool. Cy5-labelled time point samples were mixed with the same amount of Cy3-labelled pool sample. The solution was loaded on a microarray slide and hybridized for 14–16 h.
Project description:We compared the transcriptomic profiles between P. falciparum strains displaying mutant or wild-type pfcrt or varying in pfcrt or pfmdr1 expression levels All values were normalized using a background pool constituted of 11 transcriptome data sets that constituted a baseline for gene expression fold change and gene set enrichment. In addition to that reported in the present study, the pool included two IDC transcriptome data sets generated for Dd2 parasites pressured long-term with pulses of dihydroartemisinin (the 3b1 line) and the non-pressured parent (Lisewski et al., Cell, 2014), as well as the transcriptome data set previously reported for the 3D7, Dd2 and HB3 strains (Bozdech et al., PLos Biol 2003, Llinas et al, NAR 2006) We conducted gene expression microarrays over the course of the parasite 48-hr IDC, by sampling parasites every 6-hour, representing 8 different time points. Extracted RNA was labeled with Cy5 dye, while the reference RNA pool consisted of Cy3-coupled cDNA samples prepared from RNAs representing all developmental stages at 6-hour intervals of the IDC of the 3D7 line.
Project description:The aim of the study was to determine the effect of natural killer (NK) cells on the global gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum. FCR3-CSA-infected red blood cells (RBCs) were co-cultured for 24h with NK92. Prior to RNA extraction, the parasitized RBCs were separated via Ficoll from the lymphocyte fraction. Control cultures of parasites without NK cells were cultivated in parallel. In addition, the effect of the separation method was determined via a Ficoll control culture of FCR3-CSA that was passed over a Ficoll gradient. All three treatments were performed in triplicate. The RNA was reverse-transcribed and hybridized onto microarrays.