Journal article
An essential adaptor for apicoplast fission and inheritance in malaria parasites
Nature communications, v 16(1), Forthcoming
27 Nov 2025
PMID: 41309594
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum parasites rely on a non-photosynthetic plastid, the apicoplast, for survival, making it an attractive target for antimalarial intervention. Like the mitochondrion, the apicoplast cannot be generated de novo and must be inherited by daughter parasites during cell division. This inheritance relies on coordinated apicoplast positioning and fission, but the molecular mechanisms controlling these processes remain poorly understood. Here, we identify a previously uncharacterized P. falciparum protein (Pf3D7_0613600), which we name PfAnchor, as a key regulator of apicoplast fission. Using Ultrastructure Expansion Microscopy (U-ExM), we show that PfAnchor localizes to the apicoplast throughout the asexual blood-stage. Conditional depletion disrupts apicoplast fission, leading to incomplete cytokinesis and parasite death. Notably, loss of the apicoplast's elongated branched structure via azithromycin treatment rescues these defects, underscoring Anchor's specific role in apicoplast fission. Immunoprecipitation identified an interaction with the dynamin-like GTPase PfDyn2, a key mediator of both apicoplast and mitochondrial fission, establishing PfAnchor as the first apicoplast-specific dynamin adaptor protein. Our findings define PfAnchor as an essential factor for apicoplast fission and inheritance in P. falciparum blood-stage parasites, highlighting parasite-specific organelle division as a potential vulnerability for therapeutic intervention.
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Details
- Title
- An essential adaptor for apicoplast fission and inheritance in malaria parasites
- Creators
- James A Blauwkamp - The Ohio State UniversityKrithika Rajaram - Florida State UniversitySophia R Staggers - University of PittsburghOliver Harrigan - Indiana University School of MedicineEmma H Doud - Indiana University School of MedicineWei Xu - Drexel UniversityHangjun Ke - Drexel UniversitySean T Prigge - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Baltimore, USAStella Y Sun - University of PittsburghSabrina Absalon (Corresponding Author) - Indiana University School of Medicine
- Publication Details
- Nature communications, v 16(1), Forthcoming
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Number of pages
- 18
- Grant note
- EPAR2216 / Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) 2023198 / United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001644826400002
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105025419120
- Other Identifier
- 991022133489204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology