A malaria parasite phospholipid flippase safeguards midgut traversal of ookinetes for mosquito transmission.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34301597.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abf6015 and PMC identifier 8302136.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
Mosquito midgut epithelium traversal is essential for malaria parasite transmission. Phospholipid flippases are eukaryotic type 4 P-type adenosine triphosphatases (P4-ATPases), which, in association with CDC50, translocate phospholipids across the membrane lipid bilayers. In this study, we investigated the function of a putative P4-ATPase, ATP7, from the rodent malaria parasite <i>Plasmodium yoelii</i> Disruption of ATP7 blocks the parasite infection of mosquitoes. ATP7 is localized on the ookinete plasma membrane. While ATP7-depleted ookinetes are capable of invading the midgut, they are eliminated within the epithelial cells by a process independent from the mosquito complement-like immunity. ATP7 colocalizes and interacts with the flippase cofactor CDC50C. Depletion of CDC50C phenocopies ATP7 deficiency. ATP7-depleted ookinetes fail to uptake phosphatidylcholine across the plasma membrane. Ookinete microinjection into the mosquito hemocoel reverses the ATP7 deficiency phenotype. Our study identifies <i>Plasmodium</i> flippase as a mechanism of parasite survival in the midgut epithelium that is required for mosquito transmission.