Journal article
Quantitative analysis of Plasmodium ookinete motion in three dimensions suggests a critical role for cell shape in the biomechanics of malaria parasite gliding motility
A Kan, YH Tan, F Angrisano, E Hanssen, KL Rogers, L Whitehead, VP Mollard, A Cozijnsen, MJ Delves, S Crawford, RE Sinden, GI Mcfadden, C Leckie, J Bailey, J Baum
Cellular Microbiology | Published : 2014
DOI: 10.1111/cmi.12283
Abstract
Motility is a fundamental part of cellular life and survival, including for Plasmodium parasites - single-celled protozoan pathogens responsible for human malaria. The motile life cycle forms achieve motility, called gliding, via the activity of an internal actomyosin motor. Although gliding is based on the well-studied system of actin and myosin, its core biomechanics are not completely understood. Currently accepted models suggest it results from a specifically organized cellular motor that produces a rearward directional force. When linked to surface-bound adhesins, this force is passaged to the cell posterior, propelling the parasite forwards. Gliding motility is observed in all three li..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Mathieu Brochet and Oliver Billker for generously providing us with the IMC1hKO parasite line. We are grateful to the Department of Histology at Walter and Eliza Hall of Medical Research Institute for sectioning assistance. We are grateful to Friedrich Frischknecht, Naomi Morrissette and Raphael Kim for helpful discussion and critical reading of the manuscript and to Gary Ward for sharing pre-publication data. Experimental data presented here was made possible through Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support and Australian Government NHMRC IRIISS. The research was directly supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Project Grant (637341 JB & GIM), a Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Young Investigator Program Grant (JB RGY0071/2011) and National ICT Australia (NICTA). FA is supported through an NHMRC Dora Lush Scholarship (APP1055246). JB was supported through a Future Fellowship (FT100100112) from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and is currently supported by the Wellcome Trust, through a New Investigator Award (100993/Z/13/Z). The authors declare no conflict of interest.