Probing Plasmodium falciparum sexual commitment at the single-cell level

Background: Malaria parasites go through major transitions during their complex life cycle, yet the underlying differentiation pathways remain obscure. Here we apply single cell transcriptomics to unravel the program inducing sexual differentiation in Plasmodium falciparum . Parasites have to make t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wellcome open research 2018-10, Vol.3, p.70
Main Authors: Brancucci, Nicolas M.B., De Niz, Mariana, Straub, Timothy J., Ravel, Deepali, Sollelis, Lauriane, Birren, Bruce W., Voss, Till S., Neafsey, Daniel E., Marti, Matthias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bone marrow
Cell cycle
Erythrocytes
Experiments
Gene expression
Infections
Kinases
Malaria
Parasites
Parasitology
Population
Principal components analysis
Public health
Writing
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background: Malaria parasites go through major transitions during their complex life cycle, yet the underlying differentiation pathways remain obscure. Here we apply single cell transcriptomics to unravel the program inducing sexual differentiation in Plasmodium falciparum . Parasites have to make this essential life-cycle decision in preparation for human-to-mosquito transmission. Methods: By combining transcriptional profiling with quantitative imaging and genetics, we defined a transcriptional signature in sexually committed cells. Results: We found this transcriptional signature to be distinct from general changes in parasite metabolism that can be observed in response to commitment-inducing conditions. Conclusions: This proof-of-concept study provides a template to capture transcriptional diversity in parasite populations containing complex mixtures of different life-cycle stages and developmental programs, with important implications for our understanding of parasite biology and the ongoing malaria elimination campaign.
ISSN:2398-502X
2398-502X
DOI:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.14645.4