Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.

Malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) encounter markedly different (nutritional) environments during their complex life cycles in the mosquito and human hosts. Adaptation to these different host niches is associated with a dramatic rewiring of metabolism, from a highly glycolytic metabolism in the ase...

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Main Authors: Anubhav Srivastava, Nisha Philip, Katie R Hughes, Konstantina Georgiou, James I MacRae, Michael P Barrett, Darren J Creek, Malcolm J McConville, Andrew P Waters
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-12-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006094&type=printable
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author Anubhav Srivastava
Nisha Philip
Katie R Hughes
Konstantina Georgiou
James I MacRae
Michael P Barrett
Darren J Creek
Malcolm J McConville
Andrew P Waters
author_facet Anubhav Srivastava
Nisha Philip
Katie R Hughes
Konstantina Georgiou
James I MacRae
Michael P Barrett
Darren J Creek
Malcolm J McConville
Andrew P Waters
author_sort Anubhav Srivastava
collection DOAJ
description Malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) encounter markedly different (nutritional) environments during their complex life cycles in the mosquito and human hosts. Adaptation to these different host niches is associated with a dramatic rewiring of metabolism, from a highly glycolytic metabolism in the asexual blood stages to increased dependence on tricarboxylic acid (TCA) metabolism in mosquito stages. Here we have used stable isotope labelling, targeted metabolomics and reverse genetics to map stage-specific changes in Plasmodium berghei carbon metabolism and determine the functional significance of these changes on parasite survival in the blood and mosquito stages. We show that glutamine serves as the predominant input into TCA metabolism in both asexual and sexual blood stages and is important for complete male gametogenesis. Glutamine catabolism, as well as key reactions in intermediary metabolism and CoA synthesis are also essential for ookinete to oocyst transition in the mosquito. These data extend our knowledge of Plasmodium metabolism and point towards possible targets for transmission-blocking intervention strategies. Furthermore, they highlight significant metabolic differences between Plasmodium species which are not easily anticipated based on genomics or transcriptomics studies and underline the importance of integration of metabolomics data with other platforms in order to better inform drug discovery and design.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-0d90a18bfcf741dbb9e4f8dc05b2790d2025-08-20T03:24:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Pathogens1553-73661553-73742016-12-011212e100609410.1371/journal.ppat.1006094Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.Anubhav SrivastavaNisha PhilipKatie R HughesKonstantina GeorgiouJames I MacRaeMichael P BarrettDarren J CreekMalcolm J McConvilleAndrew P WatersMalaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) encounter markedly different (nutritional) environments during their complex life cycles in the mosquito and human hosts. Adaptation to these different host niches is associated with a dramatic rewiring of metabolism, from a highly glycolytic metabolism in the asexual blood stages to increased dependence on tricarboxylic acid (TCA) metabolism in mosquito stages. Here we have used stable isotope labelling, targeted metabolomics and reverse genetics to map stage-specific changes in Plasmodium berghei carbon metabolism and determine the functional significance of these changes on parasite survival in the blood and mosquito stages. We show that glutamine serves as the predominant input into TCA metabolism in both asexual and sexual blood stages and is important for complete male gametogenesis. Glutamine catabolism, as well as key reactions in intermediary metabolism and CoA synthesis are also essential for ookinete to oocyst transition in the mosquito. These data extend our knowledge of Plasmodium metabolism and point towards possible targets for transmission-blocking intervention strategies. Furthermore, they highlight significant metabolic differences between Plasmodium species which are not easily anticipated based on genomics or transcriptomics studies and underline the importance of integration of metabolomics data with other platforms in order to better inform drug discovery and design.https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006094&type=printable
spellingShingle Anubhav Srivastava
Nisha Philip
Katie R Hughes
Konstantina Georgiou
James I MacRae
Michael P Barrett
Darren J Creek
Malcolm J McConville
Andrew P Waters
Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.
PLoS Pathogens
title Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.
title_full Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.
title_fullStr Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.
title_full_unstemmed Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.
title_short Stage-Specific Changes in Plasmodium Metabolism Required for Differentiation and Adaptation to Different Host and Vector Environments.
title_sort stage specific changes in plasmodium metabolism required for differentiation and adaptation to different host and vector environments
url https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006094&type=printable
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