RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 An extended DNA-free intranuclear compartment organizes centrosome microtubules in malaria parasites
JF Life Science Alliance
JO Life Sci. Alliance
FD Life Science Alliance LLC
SP e202101199
DO 10.26508/lsa.202101199
VO 4
IS 11
A1 Caroline S Simon
A1 Charlotta Funaya
A1 Johanna Bauer
A1 Yannik Voβ
A1 Marta Machado
A1 Alexander Penning
A1 Darius Klaschka
A1 Marek Cyrklaff
A1 Juyeop Kim
A1 Markus Ganter
A1 Julien Guizetti
YR 2021
UL https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/4/11/e202101199.abstract
AB Proliferation of Plasmodium falciparum in red blood cells is the cause of malaria and is underpinned by an unconventional cell division mode, called schizogony. Contrary to model organisms, P. falciparum replicates by multiple rounds of nuclear divisions that are not interrupted by cytokinesis. Organization and dynamics of critical nuclear division factors remain poorly understood. Centriolar plaques, the centrosomes of P. falciparum, serve as microtubule organizing centers and have an acentriolar, amorphous structure. The small size of parasite nuclei has precluded detailed analysis of intranuclear microtubule organization by classical fluorescence microscopy. We apply recently developed super-resolution and time-lapse imaging protocols to describe microtubule reconfiguration during schizogony. Analysis of centrin, nuclear pore, and microtubule positioning reveals two distinct compartments of the centriolar plaque. Whereas centrin is extranuclear, we confirm by correlative light and electron tomography that microtubules are nucleated in a previously unknown and extended intranuclear compartment, which is devoid of chromatin but protein-dense. This study generates a working model for an unconventional centrosome and enables a better understanding about the diversity of eukaryotic cell division.