Plasmodium rootlet SFA1 coordinates cell replication, apical polarity and cytoskeletal organisation during sexual development
- 1School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Abstract
Rootlet fibres are evolutionarily conserved cytoskeletal structures involved in basal body positioning and cytoskeletal organisation in diverse eukaryotes. Plasmodium spps, undergo complex developmental transitions that require precise coordination of cell polarity, cytoskeletal remodelling and nuclear division. In Plasmodium striated fibre assemblin1 (SFA1) and SFA2 have been implicated in linking the centriolar plaque to nascent apical poles during schizogony and sporogony. However, their role in sexual development is unclear. Here we show SFA1 is absent from the male basal body but is present in female gametocytes, where it marks the polarity initiation site during zygote-to-ookinete differentiation. We also identify associations between SFA1, SFA2 and pellicle-associated proteins. Loss of sfa1 disrupts apical polarity, pellicle organisation and subpellicular microtubules, producing abnormal immotile ookinetes and affecting further sporozoite development, leading to complete loss of parasite transmission. Together, these findings support an important role for SFA1 in organising the cytoskeletal architecture required for malaria transmission.
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BibTeX
@misc{brady2026plasmodium,
title = {{Plasmodium rootlet SFA1 coordinates cell replication, apical polarity and cytoskeletal organisation during sexual development}},
author = {D. Brady and A. Mishra and P. Ilani and D. J. P. Ferguson and P. Ubiaru and R. Markus and A. Bottrill and M. Zeeshan and S. Vaughan and D. S. Guttery and E. C. Tromer and A. A. Holder and R. Tewari},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.30.761637},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.30.761637v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Plasmodium rootlet SFA1 coordinates cell replication, apical polarity and cytoskeletal organisation during sexual development
AU - D. Brady
AU - A. Mishra
AU - P. Ilani
AU - D. J. P. Ferguson
AU - P. Ubiaru
AU - R. Markus
AU - A. Bottrill
AU - M. Zeeshan
AU - S. Vaughan
AU - D. S. Guttery
AU - E. C. Tromer
AU - A. A. Holder
AU - R. Tewari
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.30.761637
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.30.761637v1
AB - Rootlet fibres are evolutionarily conserved cytoskeletal structures involved in basal body positioning and cytoskeletal organisation in diverse eukaryotes. Plasmodium spps, undergo complex developmental transitions that require precise coordination of cell polarity, cytoskeletal remodelling and nuclear division. In Plasmodium striated fibre assemblin1 (SFA1) and SFA2 have been implicated in linking the centriolar plaque to nascent apical poles during schizogony and sporogony. However, their role in sexual development is unclear. Here we show SFA1 is absent from the male basal body but is present in female gametocytes, where it marks the polarity initiation site during zygote-to-ookinete differentiation. We also identify associations between SFA1, SFA2 and pellicle-associated proteins. Loss of sfa1 disrupts apical polarity, pellicle organisation and subpellicular microtubules, producing abnormal immotile ookinetes and affecting further sporozoite development, leading to complete loss of parasite transmission. Together, these findings support an important role for SFA1 in organising the cytoskeletal architecture required for malaria transmission.
ER -