Project description:ChIP-seq experiments were performed to profile PfH3.3 (PF3D7_0617900) in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Sequencing of ChIP samples showed enrichment of PfH3.3 at GC-rich coding sequences and subtelomeric repetitive regions throughout the intraerythrocytic life cycle and additionally in intergenic regions during trophozoite stages. Also the promoter and the coding sequence of the active and poised var2CSA gene were marked (reference genome Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 from PlasmoDB version 6.1)
Project description:Investigation of whole genome expression profiles during four time points during the intraerythrocytic lifecycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum for transcript isoforms using Exon Arrays. The samples used in this study are further described in Turnbull et. al., Simultaneous Genome-Wide Gene Expression and Transcript Isoform Profiling in the Human Malaria Parasite (in review)
Project description:Investigation of whole genome expression profiles during four time points during the intraerythrocytic lifecycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum for transcript isoforms using Exon Arrays. The samples used in this study are further described in Turnbull et. al., Simultaneous Genome-Wide Gene Expression and Transcript Isoform Profiling in the Human Malaria Parasite (in review)
Project description:To investigate the accumulation of non coding small RNAs we performed high throughput RNA sequencing on size selcted total RNA from malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Project description:The liver stage of the etiological agent of malaria, Plasmodium, is obligatory for successful infection of its various mammalian hosts. Differentiation of the rod-shaped sporozoites of Plasmodium into spherical exoerythrocytic forms (EEFs) via bulbous expansion is essential for parasite development in the liver. However, little is known about the host factors regulating the morphological transformation of Plasmodium sporozoites in this organ. Here, we show that sporozoite differentiation into EEFs in the liver involves protein kinase Cζ-mediated NF-κB activation, which robustly induces the expression of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) in hepatocytes and subsequently elevates intracellular Ca2+ levels, thereby triggering sporozoite transformation into EEFs. Blocking CXCR4 expression by genetic or pharmacological intervention profoundly inhibited the liver stage development of the P. berghei rodent malaria parasite and the human P. falciparum parasite also. Collectively, our experiments show that CXCR4 is a key host factor for Plasmodium development in the liver, and CXCR4 warrants further investigation for malaria prophylaxis.
Project description:Plasmodium vivax causes 25-40% of malaria cases worldwide, yet research on this human malaria parasite has been neglected. Nevertheless, the recent publication of the P. vivax reference genome now allows genomics and systems biology approaches to be applied to this pathogen. We show here that whole genome analysis of the parasite can be achieved directly from ex vivo-isolated parasites, without the need for in vitro propagation. A single isolate of P. vivax obtained from a febrile patient with clinical malaria from Peru was subjected to whole genome sequencing (30X coverage). This analysis revealed over 18,261 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 6,257 of which were further validated using a tiling microarray. Within core chromosomal genes we find that one SNP per every 985 bases of coding sequence distinguishes this recent Peruvian isolate, designated IQ07, from the reference Sal1 strain obtained in 1970. This full-genome sequence of a P. vivax isolate, the second overall and first of an uncultured patient isolate, shows that the same regions with low numbers of aligned sequencing reads are also highly variable by genomic microarray analysis. Finally, we show that the genes containing the largest ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous SNPs encode two AP2 transcription factors and the P. vivax multidrug resistance-associated protein (PvMRP1), an ABC transporter shown to be associated with quinoline and antifolate tolerance in P. falciparum. This analysis provides a new data set for comparative analysis with important potential for identifying markers for global parasite diversity and drug resistance mapping studies.
Project description:Cerebral Malaria (CM), the deadliest complication of Plasmodium infection, is a complex and unpredictable disease. Currently, our understanding of the factors that trigger progression of malaria to CM is limited. Here, by infecting experimental CM (ECM) resistant (Balb/c) and ECM susceptible (C57BL/6) mice with ECM causing (ANKA) and non-ECM causing (NK65) Plasmodium berghei (Pb) parasite strains, we revealed that in resistant host, infection by ECM causing parasite develops similar to infection by non-ECM causing parasite in susceptible host in terms of parasite growth in host, disease course and host immune response against parasite. Our comparative gene expression analysis revealed that in Balb/c host, gene expression of Pb ANKA parasite is remarkably different from, the gene expression of Pb ANKA in C57BL/6 but similar to the gene expression of non-ECM causing Pb NK65 in C57BL/6. Thus, host has a critical influence on parasite behavior which ultimately determines the course of malaria disease.
Project description:ChIP-seq experiments were performed for the putative telomere repeat-binding factor (PfTRF) in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7. The gene encoding this factor (PF3D7_1209300) was endogenously tagged with either a GFP- or a 3xHA-tag and these transgenic parasite lines were used in ChIP-sequencing experiments. Sequencing of the ChIP and input libraries showed enrichment of PfTRF at all telomere-repeat containing chromosome ends (reference genome Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 from PlasmoDB version 6.1) as well as in all upsB var promoters.In addition,PfTRF was enriched at seven additional, intra-chromosomal sites and called in the PfTRF-HA ChIP-seq only. Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 parasites were generated with -GFP or -3xHA C-terminal tagged TRF (PF3D7_1209300). Nuclei were isolated from formaldehyde cross-linked schizont-stage transgenic parasites and used to prepare chromatin. Chromatin immunoprecipitations were performed using mouse anti-GFP (Roche Diagnostics, #11814460001) or rat anti-HA 3F10 (Roche Diagnostics, #12158167001). Sequencing libraries were prepared according to a Plasmodium-optimized library preparation procedure including KAPA polymerase-mediated PCR amplification.