Plasmodium berghei PIMMS2 Promotes Ookinete Invasion of the Anopheles gambiae Mosquito Midgut.

ABSTRACT: Mosquito midgut stages of the malaria parasite present an attractive biological system to study host-parasite interactions and develop interventions to block disease transmission. Mosquito infection ensues upon oocyst development that follows ookinete invasion and traversal of the mosquito midgut epithelium. Here, we report the characterization of PIMMS2 (Plasmodium invasion of mosquito midgut screen candidate 2), a Plasmodium berghei protein with structural similarities to subtilisin-like proteins. PIMMS2 orthologs are present in the genomes of all plasmodia and are mapped between the subtilisin-encoding genes SUB1 and SUB3 P. berghei PIMMS2 is specifically expressed in zygotes and ookinetes and is localized on the ookinete surface. Loss of PIMMS2

SUBMITTER: Ukegbu CV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5520436 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature