Twists and Turns

During its complicated life cycle, the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum moves from the bloodstream of one host to another by transferring into the gut of a mosquito, where it reproduces and multiplies. To do this, the parasite undergoes a transformation into a sexual stage, known as a gametocyte. Pictured are 3D representations of gametocyte formation inside a red blood cell (in dark red): its characteristic crescent shape is created by the elongation of a set of membrane structures, known as the inner membrane complex (IMC), shown in magenta (the nucleus and mitochondria of the parasite cell are in yellow and red respectively). Recent research suggests that this transformation can be disrupted by blocking certain proteins involved in the development of the IMC. As the gametocyte stage is crucial to successful infection, seeking out ways of hindering this process could be another means to tackle the problem of malaria.

Written by Emmanuelle Briolat

• Boyin Liu and Matthew Dixon, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne
• Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Research published in PLOS Pathogens, October 2017