Critical Steps of Plasmodium falciparum Ookinete Maturation

• Main Authors: Giulia Siciliano, Giulia Costa, Pablo Suárez-Cortés, Angelo Valleriani, Pietro Alano, Elena A. Levashina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-03-01
• Series: Frontiers in Microbiology
• Subjects: malaria parasite transmission; Plasmodium falciparum; Anopheles coluzzii; ookinete maturation; time course of zygote development; developmental bottleneck
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00269/full

The egress and fertilization of Plasmodium gametes and development of a motile ookinete are the first crucial steps that mediate the successful transmission of the malaria parasites from humans to the Anopheles vector. However, limited information exists about the cell biology and regulation of this process. Technical impediments in the establishment of in vitro conditions for ookinete maturation in Plasmodium falciparum and other human malaria parasites further constrain a detailed characterization of ookinete maturation. Here, using fluorescence microscopy and immunolabeling, we compared P. falciparum ookinete maturation in Anopheles coluzzii mosquitoes in vivo and in cell culture in vitro. Our results identified two critical steps in ookinete maturation that are regulated by distinct mosquito factors, thereby highlighting the role of the mosquito environment in the transmission efficiency of malaria parasites.