How does malaria’s blood-stage transcriptome unfold?
Plasmodium falciparum’s 48-hour intraerythrocytic cycle was profiled hourly, revealing tightly staged gene-expression programs after RBC invasion.
Source
The transcriptome of the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle of Plasmodium falciparum
What they did
Measured the IDC transcriptome of P. falciparum at 1-hour resolution across the ~48-hour cycle from merozoite invasion through ring/trophozoite/schizont stages.
What they found
Gene expression is highly periodic and stage-ordered across the IDC starting with merozoite invasion and parasitophorous vacuole formation.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Does not itself deliver a drug; focuses on blood-stage expression timing.
Key terms
- IDC
- Intraerythrocytic developmental cycle in RBCs.
- Merozoite
- Invasive blood-stage form that enters erythrocytes.
- Parasitophorous vacuole
- Host-derived vacuole housing the intracellular parasite.
- Plasmodium falciparum
- Major human malaria parasite.
Flashcards
Want these cards to stick?
Save the deck to NoteFren and study it with spaced repetition.
Quiz yourself
IDC length
Common questions
Cycle length?
~48 hours.
Resolution?
1-hour sampling.
Starts with?
Merozoite invasion of RBCs.
Why care?
Maps stage-specific expression for the pathogenic blood stage.
More on Host–pathogen