Wierk, Jannika Katharina; Langbehn, Annette; Kamper, Maria; Richter, Stefanie; Burda, Paul-Christian; Heussler, Volker; Deschermeier, Christina (2013). Plasmodium berghei MAPK1 displays differential and dynamic subcellular localizations during liver stage development. PLoS ONE, 8(3), e59755. Public Library of Science 10.1371/journal.pone.0059755
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Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) regulate key signaling events in eukaryotic cells. In the genomes of protozoan Plasmodium parasites, the causative agents of malaria, two genes encoding kinases with significant homology to other eukaryotic MAPKs have been identified (mapk1, mapk2). In this work, we show that both genes are transcribed during Plasmodium berghei liver stage development, and analyze expression and subcellular localization of the PbMAPK1 protein in liver stage parasites. Live cell imaging of transgenic parasites expressing GFP-tagged PbMAPK1 revealed a nuclear localization of PbMAPK1 in the early schizont stage mediated by nuclear localization signals in the C-terminal domain. In contrast, a distinct localization of PbMAPK1 in comma/ring-shaped structures in proximity to the parasite's nuclei and the invaginating parasite membrane was observed during the cytomere stage of parasite development as well as in immature blood stage schizonts. The PbMAPK1 localization was found to be independent of integrity of a motif putatively involved in ATP binding, integrity of the putative activation motif and the presence of a predicted coiled-coil domain in the C-terminal domain. Although PbMAPK1 knock out parasites showed normal liver stage development, the kinase may still fulfill a dual function in both schizogony and merogony of liver stage parasites regulated by its dynamic and stage-dependent subcellular localization.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Cell Biology 08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Cell Biology > Malaria |
UniBE Contributor: |
Burda, Paul-Christian, Heussler, Volker |
Subjects: |
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology |
ISSN: |
1932-6203 |
Publisher: |
Public Library of Science |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Jacqueline Schmuckli |
Date Deposited: |
10 Mar 2014 15:07 |
Last Modified: |
19 Aug 2024 14:32 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1371/journal.pone.0059755 |
PubMed ID: |
23544094 |
BORIS DOI: |
10.7892/boris.43434 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/43434 |
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