A seven-helix protein constitutes stress granules crucial for regulating translation during human-to-mosquito transmission of Plasmodium falciparum.

The complex life-cycle of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum requires a high degree of tight coordination allowing the parasite to adapt to changing environments. One of the major challenges for the parasite is the human-to-mosquito transmission, which starts with the differentiation of blood stage parasites into the transmissible gametocytes, followed by the rapid conversion of the gametocytes into gametes, once they are taken up by the blood-feeding Anopheles vector. In order to pre-adapt to this change of host, the gametocytes store transcripts in stress granules that encode proteins needed for parasite development in the mosquito. Here we report on a novel stress granule component, the seven-helix protein 7-Helix-1. The protein, a homolog of the human stress response regulator LanC-like 2, accumulates in stress granules of female gametocytes and interacts with ribonucleoproteins, such as CITH, DOZI, and PABP1. Malaria parasites lacking 7-Helix-1 are significantly impaired in female gametogenesis and thus transmission to the mosquito. Lack of 7-Helix-1 further leads to a deregulation of components required for protein synthesis. Consistently, inhibitors of translation could mimic the 7-Helix-1 loss-of-function phenotype. 7-Helix-1 forms a complex with the RNA-binding protein Puf2, a translational regulator of the female-specific antigen Pfs25, as well as with pfs25-coding mRNA. In accord, gametocytes deficient of 7-Helix-1 exhibit impaired Pfs25 synthesis. Our data demonstrate that 7-Helix-1 constitutes stress granules crucial for regulating the synthesis of proteins needed for life-cycle progression of Plasmodium in the mosquito vector.

A WD40-repeat protein unique to malaria parasites associates with adhesion protein complexes and is crucial for blood stage progeny.

BACKGROUND: During development in human erythrocytes, Plasmodium falciparum parasites display a remarkable number of adhesive proteins on their plasma membrane. In the invasive merozoites, these include members of the PfMSP1 and PfAMA1/RON complexes, which facilitate contact between merozoites and red blood cells. In gametocytes, sexual precursor cells mediating parasite transmission to the mosquito vector, plasma membrane-associated proteins primarily belong to the PfCCp and 6-cys families with roles in fertilization. This study describes a newly identified WD40-repeat protein unique to Plasmodium species that associates with adhesion protein complexes of both merozoites and gametocytes. METHODS: The WD40-repeat protein-like protein PfWLP1 was identified via co-immunoprecipitation assays followed by mass spectrometry and characterized using biochemical and immunohistochemistry methods. Reverse genetics were employed for functional analysis. RESULTS: PfWLP1 is expressed both in schizonts and gametocytes. In mature schizonts, the protein localizes underneath the merozoite micronemes and interacts with PfAMA1, while in gametocytes PfWLP1 primarily accumulates underneath the plasma membrane and associates with PfCCp1 and Pfs230. Reverse genetics failed to disrupt the pfwlp1 gene, while haemagglutinin-tagging was feasible, suggesting a crucial function for PfWLP1 during blood stage replication. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report on a plasmodial WD40-repeat protein associating with cell adhesion proteins. Since WD40 domains are known to mediate protein-protein contact by serving as a rigid scaffold for protein interactions, the presented data suggest that PfWLP1 supports the stability of adhesion protein complexes of the plasmodial blood stages.

P-proteins in Arabidopsis are heteromeric structures involved in rapid sieve tube sealing.

Structural phloem proteins (P-proteins) are characteristic components of the sieve elements in all dicotyledonous and many monocotyledonous angiosperms. Tobacco P-proteins were recently confirmed to be encoded by the widespread sieve element occlusion (SEO) gene family, and tobacco SEO proteins were shown to be directly involved in sieve tube sealing thus preventing the loss of photosynthate. Analysis of the two Arabidopsis SEO proteins (AtSEOa and AtSEOb) indicated that the corresponding P-protein subunits do not act in a redundant manner. However, there are still pending questions regarding the interaction properties and specific functions of AtSEOa and AtSEOb as well as the general function of structural P-proteins in Arabidopsis. In this study, we characterized the Arabidopsis P-proteins in more detail. We used in planta bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays to confirm the predicted heteromeric interactions between AtSEOa and AtSEOb. Arabidopsis mutants depleted for one or both AtSEO proteins lacked the typical P-protein structures normally found in sieve elements, underlining the identity of AtSEO proteins as P-proteins and furthermore providing the means to determine the role of Arabidopsis P-proteins in sieve tube sealing. We therefore developed an assay based on phloem exudation. Mutants with reduced AtSEO expression levels lost twice as much photosynthate following injury as comparable wild-type plants, confirming that Arabidopsis P-proteins are indeed involved in sieve tube sealing.