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The Roles Of Plasmepsins Ix And X In Malaria Parasite Biology, Armiyaw Sebastian Nasamu
The Roles Of Plasmepsins Ix And X In Malaria Parasite Biology, Armiyaw Sebastian Nasamu
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Proteases of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum have been targeted for drug discovery for decades. The P. falciparum genome encodes ten aspartic proteases called plasmepsins, which are involved in diverse cellular processes. In this work we address the roles of two of these plasmepsins, plasmepsins IX and X (PM IX and X), the two least studied aspartic proteases in blood stage malaria parasites till date. We explore the essentiality of these proteases in parasite development, attempt to identify their substrates and the ability to drug them. We show that PM IX is essential for erythrocyte invasion, acting on rhoptry secretory …
Protein Synthesis Adaptation To The Au-Rich Transcriptome Of Plasmodium Falciparum, Jessey Lee Erath
Protein Synthesis Adaptation To The Au-Rich Transcriptome Of Plasmodium Falciparum, Jessey Lee Erath
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The process of protein synthesis whereby a messenger RNA is decoded into an amino acid chainis conserved among the domains. Fastidious protein synthesis is necessary for organism survival. However, exceptions negatively affecting the mRNA translation cycle – inadvertently or by design – may occur. Polyadenosine tracts are one such motif causing ribosomal stalling and frameshifting in almost all organisms tested thus far; save Plasmodium spp. Thus, with ~60% of their protein-coding genome harboring polyadenosine tracts, the elucidation of such paradigm-breaking adaptations enabling Plasmodium spp. to translate this typically problematic motif without issue is salient from both basic science and clinical …