A Plasmodium knowlesi A1-H.1 transcriptome time course focusing on the late asexual blood stages
4 affiliations
- 1Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Malariology Unit, Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- 2ISGlobal, Malaria and Neglected Parasitic Diseases Programme, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- 3ICREA, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- 4Royal Veterinary College, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Abstract
The zoonotic parasite Plasmodium knowlesi is closely related to Plasmodium vivax, the second leading cause of human malaria. P. knowlesi line A1-H.1 can be maintained in human erythrocytes and is an experimental model for P. vivax biology. We present the first transcriptome time course of the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle (IDC) of P. knowlesi A1-H.1 grown in human normocytes. Bulk RNA-sequencing was performed at five IDC stages using tightly synchronised cultures, enabling identification of constitutively expressed genes and stage-specific biomarkers, and investigation of temporal expression patterns of multigene families. Comparative analysis with P. vivax orthologues revealed strong genome-wide conservation of temporal expression. Analysis of invasion-associated genes and ApiAP2 transcription factors identified genes with conserved expression patterns for which P. knowlesi is likely a good model to study the P. vivax gene. To support comparative analyses, we developed an open-access interactive webtool to explore and visualise P. knowlesi – P. vivax – P. falciparum orthologue expression across the IDC (https://interactive.itg.be/app/pk-orthologue-expression-viewer). This time course dataset provides a reference transcriptome framework for P. knowlesi A1-H.1 and a resource for comparative Plasmodium biology. The interactive webtool facilitates rapid identification of candidate genes with conserved temporal expression, streamlining functional studies in which P. knowlesi A1-H.1 serves as a model for P. vivax. Author summary: Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria parasite, occurring both in macaques and humans. The P. knowlesi laboratory line A1-H.1, which was adapted to grow in human red blood cells, is increasingly used as a model to study Plasmodium vivax, the second most common cause of human malaria. Both species are closely related, but no laboratory line is available for P. vivax. To better understand similarities and differences in gene expression between P. knowlesi A1-H.1 and P. vivax, and to increase our knowledge of P. knowlesi biology in general, we generated a transcriptomic time course covering five stages of the parasite’s asexual blood cycle using mRNA sequencing. This resource can be accessed through an online webtool that allows researchers to explore temporal expression patterns for any P. knowlesi gene and its P. vivax and P. falciparum orthologues. Furthermore, we visualised a selection of genes and gene families that are of specific interest in Plasmodium research, and identified life stage-specific biomarkers as well as constitutively expressed P. knowlesi genes that may support future experimental studies.
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BibTeX
@article{meulenaere2026plasmodium,
title = {{A Plasmodium knowlesi A1-H.1 transcriptome time course focusing on the late asexual blood stages}},
author = {Katlijn De Meulenaere and Dalia Díaz-Delgado and Pieter Monsieurs and Erin Sauve and Alfred Cortés and Ellen Knuepfer and Anna Rosanas-Urgell},
journal = {PLOS Pathogens},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1014727},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014727},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A Plasmodium knowlesi A1-H.1 transcriptome time course focusing on the late asexual blood stages
AU - Katlijn De Meulenaere
AU - Dalia Díaz-Delgado
AU - Pieter Monsieurs
AU - Erin Sauve
AU - Alfred Cortés
AU - Ellen Knuepfer
AU - Anna Rosanas-Urgell
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - PLOS Pathogens
DO - 10.1371/journal.ppat.1014727
UR - https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014727
AB - The zoonotic parasite Plasmodium knowlesi is closely related to Plasmodium vivax, the second leading cause of human malaria. P. knowlesi line A1-H.1 can be maintained in human erythrocytes and is an experimental model for P. vivax biology. We present the first transcriptome time course of the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle (IDC) of P. knowlesi A1-H.1 grown in human normocytes. Bulk RNA-sequencing was performed at five IDC stages using tightly synchronised cultures, enabling identification of constitutively expressed genes and stage-specific biomarkers, and investigation of temporal expression patterns of multigene families. Comparative analysis with P. vivax orthologues revealed strong genome-wide conservation of temporal expression. Analysis of invasion-associated genes and ApiAP2 transcription factors identified genes with conserved expression patterns for which P. knowlesi is likely a good model to study the P. vivax gene. To support comparative analyses, we developed an open-access interactive webtool to explore and visualise P. knowlesi – P. vivax – P. falciparum orthologue expression across the IDC (https://interactive.itg.be/app/pk-orthologue-expression-viewer). This time course dataset provides a reference transcriptome framework for P. knowlesi A1-H.1 and a resource for comparative Plasmodium biology. The interactive webtool facilitates rapid identification of candidate genes with conserved temporal expression, streamlining functional studies in which P. knowlesi A1-H.1 serves as a model for P. vivax. Author summary: Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria parasite, occurring both in macaques and humans. The P. knowlesi laboratory line A1-H.1, which was adapted to grow in human red blood cells, is increasingly used as a model to study Plasmodium vivax, the second most common cause of human malaria. Both species are closely related, but no laboratory line is available for P. vivax. To better understand similarities and differences in gene expression between P. knowlesi A1-H.1 and P. vivax, and to increase our knowledge of P. knowlesi biology in general, we generated a transcriptomic time course covering five stages of the parasite’s asexual blood cycle using mRNA sequencing. This resource can be accessed through an online webtool that allows researchers to explore temporal expression patterns for any P. knowlesi gene and its P. vivax and P. falciparum orthologues. Furthermore, we visualised a selection of genes and gene families that are of specific interest in Plasmodium research, and identified life stage-specific biomarkers as well as constitutively expressed P. knowlesi genes that may support future experimental studies.
SN - 1553-7374
ER -