Polarization of MTIP is a signature of gliding locomotion in Plasmodium ookinetes and sporozoites

Publication date: Available online 23 December 2019Source: Molecular and Biochemical ParasitologyAuthor(s): Inga Siden-Kiamos, Christian Goosmann, Carlos A. Buscaglia, Volker Brinkmann, Kai Matuschewski, Georgina N. MontagnaAbstractGliding motility and cell invasion are essential for the successful transmission of Plasmodium parasites. These processes rely on an acto-myosin motor located underneath the parasite plasma membrane. The Myosin A-tail interacting protein (MTIP) connects the class XIV myosin A (MyoA) to the gliding-associated proteins and is essential for assembly of the motor at the inner membrane complex. Here, we assessed the subcellular localization of MTIP in Plasmodium berghei motile stages from wild-type parasites and mutants that lack MyoA or the small heat shock protein 20 (HSP20). We demonstrate that MTIP is recruited to the apical end of motile ookinetes independently of the presence of MyoA. We also show that infective sporozoites displayed a polarized MTIP distribution during gliding, and that this distribution was abrogated in mutant parasites with an aberrant locomotion.
Source: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology - Category: Parasitology Source Type: research