Plasmodium falciparum
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
PROVIDER: PRJNA374799 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
Dataset's files
| Action | DRS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SRR5259140.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR5259131.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR5259141.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR5259132.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz | |||
| SRR5259134.fastq.gz | Fastqsanger.gz |
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Project description:Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites that proliferate through iterative cycles of intra-erythrocytic replication. During each cycle a small number of parasites differentiate into gametocytes, the only forms able to infect the mosquito vector and transmit malaria. Sexual commitment is triggered by activation of AP2-G, the master transcriptional regulator of gametocytogenesis. Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1)-dependent silencing of ap2-g prevents sexual conversion and secures proliferation. Here, we identify gametocyte development 1 (GDV1) as the first upstream activator of the sexual differentiation pathway in P. falciparum. Induction of GDV1 expression is sufficient to activate AP2-G expression and sexual differentiation. We found that GDV1 targets heterochromatin and triggers HP1 eviction preferentially at ap2-g and other gametocyte-specific genes. We further demonstrate that GDV1-dependent activation of ap2-g is controlled via a gdv1 antisense RNA. In summary, we identify GDV1 as an unprecedented cell fate decision factor that induces sexual differentiation by antagonizing HP1-dependent gene silencing.
2018-05-04 | GSE94901 | GEO
Project description:Transmission of Plasmodium spp. from a human host to a mosquito vector requires that some parasites abandon the asexual replicative cycle in the blood, associated with all clinical symptoms of malaria, and convert into non-replicative sexual precursors called gametocytes. The sexual conversion rate (i.e., the proportion of parasites that convert at each cycle) is variable, which enables parasites to adjust the balance between sexual and asexual development to the conditions of the human blood environment. Under some specific types of stress, parasites enhance sexual conversion rates to increase their relative investment in transmission. Sexual conversion is orchestrated by the master regulator AP2-G, a transcription factor of the ApiAP2 family. In Plasmodium falciparum, the species that produces the vast majority of human malaria cases and deaths, activation of ap2-g expression requires the GDV1 protein, which displaces heterochromatin from the ap2-g promoter. An antisense long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) encoded in the same locus as GDV1, named gdv1-as, is a negative regulator of GDV1 expression, but how the expression of this lncRNA is regulated or how specific types of stress enhance sexual conversion is not known. Here we show that environmental induction of sexual conversion is initiated by activation of gdv1 expression in a process dependent on the AP2-HS transcription factor, previously described as the activator of the malarial protective HS response. Next, GDV1 activates the expression of its own repressor, gdv1-as, by removing heterochromatin from its putative promoter. This positive-negative regulatory feedback loop limits GDV1 activation to a short burst of expression. This same mechanism operates for stimulation of sexual conversion by different environmental conditions, and AP2-HS is also needed for the activation of metabolic pathways that compensate depletion of phospholipid precursors. These findings provide new insight on the mechanisms underlying the fundamental developmental decision of malaria parasites and explain their plasticity to increase the investment in transmission when the conditions of the environment are unfavourable.
2026-07-27 | GSE298061 | GEO
Project description:Transmission of Plasmodium spp. from a human host to a mosquito vector requires that some parasites abandon the asexual replicative cycle in the blood, associated with all clinical symptoms of malaria, and convert into non-replicative sexual precursors called gametocytes. The sexual conversion rate (i.e., the proportion of parasites that convert at each cycle) is variable, which enables parasites to adjust the balance between sexual and asexual development to the conditions of the human blood environment. Under some specific types of stress, parasites enhance sexual conversion rates to increase their relative investment in transmission. Sexual conversion is orchestrated by the master regulator AP2-G, a transcription factor of the ApiAP2 family. In Plasmodium falciparum, the species that produces the vast majority of human malaria cases and deaths, activation of ap2-g expression requires the GDV1 protein, which displaces heterochromatin from the ap2-g promoter. An antisense long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) encoded in the same locus as GDV1, named gdv1-as, is a negative regulator of GDV1 expression, but how the expression of this lncRNA is regulated or how specific types of stress enhance sexual conversion is not known. Here we show that environmental induction of sexual conversion is initiated by activation of gdv1 expression in a process dependent on the AP2-HS transcription factor, previously described as the activator of the malarial protective HS response. Next, GDV1 activates the expression of its own repressor, gdv1-as, by removing heterochromatin from its putative promoter. This positive-negative regulatory feedback loop limits GDV1 activation to a short burst of expression. This same mechanism operates for stimulation of sexual conversion by different environmental conditions, and AP2-HS is also needed for the activation of metabolic pathways that compensate depletion of phospholipid precursors. These findings provide new insight on the mechanisms underlying the fundamental developmental decision of malaria parasites and explain their plasticity to increase the investment in transmission when the conditions of the environment are unfavourable.
2026-07-27 | GSE298024 | GEO
Project description:Transmission of Plasmodium spp. from a human host to a mosquito vector requires that some parasites abandon the asexual replicative cycle in the blood, associated with all clinical symptoms of malaria, and convert into non-replicative sexual precursors called gametocytes. The sexual conversion rate (i.e., the proportion of parasites that convert at each cycle) is variable, which enables parasites to adjust the balance between sexual and asexual development to the conditions of the human blood environment. Under some specific types of stress, parasites enhance sexual conversion rates to increase their relative investment in transmission. Sexual conversion is orchestrated by the master regulator AP2-G, a transcription factor of the ApiAP2 family. In Plasmodium falciparum, the species that produces the vast majority of human malaria cases and deaths, activation of ap2-g expression requires the GDV1 protein, which displaces heterochromatin from the ap2-g promoter. An antisense long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) encoded in the same locus as GDV1, named gdv1-as, is a negative regulator of GDV1 expression, but how the expression of this lncRNA is regulated or how specific types of stress enhance sexual conversion is not known. Here we show that environmental induction of sexual conversion is initiated by activation of gdv1 expression in a process dependent on the AP2-HS transcription factor, previously described as the activator of the malarial protective HS response. Next, GDV1 activates the expression of its own repressor, gdv1-as, by removing heterochromatin from its putative promoter. This positive-negative regulatory feedback loop limits GDV1 activation to a short burst of expression. This same mechanism operates for stimulation of sexual conversion by different environmental conditions, and AP2-HS is also needed for the activation of metabolic pathways that compensate depletion of phospholipid precursors. These findings provide new insight on the mechanisms underlying the fundamental developmental decision of malaria parasites and explain their plasticity to increase the investment in transmission when the conditions of the environment are unfavourable.
2026-07-27 | GSE339382 | GEO
Project description:Transmission of Plasmodium spp. from a human host to a mosquito vector requires that some parasites abandon the asexual replicative cycle in the blood, associated with all clinical symptoms of malaria, and convert into non-replicative sexual precursors called gametocytes. The sexual conversion rate (i.e., the proportion of parasites that convert at each cycle) is variable, which enables parasites to adjust the balance between sexual and asexual development to the conditions of the human blood environment. Under some specific types of stress, parasites enhance sexual conversion rates to increase their relative investment in transmission. Sexual conversion is orchestrated by the master regulator AP2-G, a transcription factor of the ApiAP2 family. In Plasmodium falciparum, the species that produces the vast majority of human malaria cases and deaths, activation of ap2-g expression requires the GDV1 protein, which displaces heterochromatin from the ap2-g promoter. An antisense long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) encoded in the same locus as GDV1, named gdv1-as, is a negative regulator of GDV1 expression, but how the expression of this lncRNA is regulated or how specific types of stress enhance sexual conversion is not known. Here we show that environmental induction of sexual conversion is initiated by activation of gdv1 expression in a process dependent on the AP2-HS transcription factor, previously described as the activator of the malarial protective HS response. Next, GDV1 activates the expression of its own repressor, gdv1-as, by removing heterochromatin from its putative promoter. This positive-negative regulatory feedback loop limits GDV1 activation to a short burst of expression. This same mechanism operates for stimulation of sexual conversion by different environmental conditions, and AP2-HS is also needed for the activation of metabolic pathways that compensate depletion of phospholipid precursors. These findings provide new insight on the mechanisms underlying the fundamental developmental decision of malaria parasites and explain their plasticity to increase the investment in transmission when the conditions of the environment are unfavourable.
2026-07-28 | PXD064373 | Pride
Project description:Malaria transmission requires the conversion of some asexual parasites into sexual forms termed gametocytes. The initial stages of sexual development, including sexually-committed schizonts and sexual rings, remain poorly characterized, in part because only a subset of parasites undergo sexual development and they are morphologically identical to their asexual counterparts. Here we present a system based on conditional expression of PfAP2-G, the master regulator of sexual conversion, for controlled sexual induction. Induction resulted in ~90% sexual conversion, which enables the characterization of early sexual stages without further purification. Transcriptomic analysis identified the alterations that follow pfap2-g activation, including identification of genes that are down-regulated. We also show that the inducible system enables the characterization of committed stages at the phenotypic level. Altogether, the inducible lines will facilitate the study of the initial stages of sexual development, which is important for the development of new strategies to stop malaria transmission.
2020-06-10 | GSE135005 | GEO
Project description:Malaria transmission requires the conversion of some asexual parasites into sexual forms termed gametocytes. The initial stages of sexual development, including sexually-committed schizonts and sexual rings, remain poorly characterized, in part because only a subset of parasites undergo sexual development and they are morphologically identical to their asexual counterparts. Here we present a system based on conditional expression of PfAP2-G, the master regulator of sexual conversion, for controlled sexual induction. Induction resulted in ~90% sexual conversion, which enables the characterization of early sexual stages without further purification. Transcriptomic analysis identified the alterations that follow pfap2-g activation, including identification of genes that are down-regulated. We also show that the inducible system enables the characterization of committed stages at the phenotypic level. Altogether, the inducible lines will facilitate the study of the initial stages of sexual development, which is important for the development of new strategies to stop malaria transmission.
2020-06-10 | GSE135002 | GEO
Project description:This study elucidates the role of TCF25 as a transcriptional regulator orchestrating sexual conversion in Plasmodium falciparum. Through generation of isogenic tcf25_ko parasite lines, we performed comparative transcriptomic analysis of synchronized ring-stage and schizont-stage parasites (WT vs knockout). Our data demonstrate that tcf25 deletion causes significant dysregulation of both gametocytogenesis-associated genes and antigenic variation gene families. TCF25 directly binds a sexual conversion regulator ap2-g4. These results indicate TCF25 as an essential upstream regulator of malaria parasite sexual development and potential transmission-blocking target.
2025-08-20 | GSE298804 | GEO
Project description:This study elucidates the role of TCF25 as a transcriptional regulator orchestrating sexual conversion in Plasmodium falciparum. Through generation of isogenic tcf25_ko parasite lines, we performed comparative transcriptomic analysis of synchronized ring-stage and schizont-stage parasites (WT vs knockout). Our data demonstrate that tcf25 deletion causes significant dysregulation of both gametocytogenesis-associated genes and antigenic variation gene families. TCF25 directly binds a sexual conversion regulator ap2-g4. These results indicate TCF25 as an essential upstream regulator of malaria parasite sexual development and potential transmission-blocking target.
2025-08-20 | GSE298805 | GEO
Project description:The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum relies on clonally variant gene expression in order to escape immune recognition and secure continuous proliferation during blood stage infection. Here, we studied the role of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), an evolutionary conserved regulator of heritable gene silencing, in the biology of P. falciparum blood stage parasites. We demonstrate that conditional PfHP1 depletion de-represses hundreds of heterochromatic virulence genes and disrupts the elusive mechanism underlying mutually exclusive expression and antigenic variation of PfEMP1. Intriguingly, we also discovered that the PfHP1-dependent regulation of an ApiAP2 transcription factor controls the switch from asexual parasite proliferation to sexual differentiation. This uncovers the first mechanistic insight into the unknown pathway triggering gametocyte conversion and establishes a new concept of HP1-dependent cell fate decision in unicellular eukaryotes. P. falciparum 3D7 parasites expressing endogenous PfHP1-GFP-DD were grown in presence of 4nM WR/625nM Shield-1 (3D7/HP1ON) or 4nM WR (3D7/HP1OFF). RNA extracted from these samples at eleven consecutive time points each was processed for microarray analysis.
2014-07-09 | E-GEOD-53176 | biostudies-arrayexpress