Atypical flagella assembly and haploid genome coiling during male gamete formation in Plasmodium

Hair, Molly; Moreira-Leite, Flávia; Ferguson, David J. P.; Ferguson, David J.P.; Zeeshan, Mohammad; Tewari, Rita; Vaughan, Sue

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-43877-w

Atypical flagella assembly and haploid genome coiling during male gamete formation in Plasmodium

Hair, Molly; Moreira-Leite, Flávia; Ferguson, David J. P.; Ferguson, David J.P.; Zeeshan, Mohammad; Tewari, Rita; Vaughan, Sue

Authors

Molly Hair

Flávia Moreira-Leite

David J. P. Ferguson

David J.P. Ferguson

Dr MOHAMMAD ZEESHAN MOHAMMAD.ZEESHAN1@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
RESEARCH FELLOW

Professor RITA TEWARI RITA.TEWARI@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
PROFESSOR OF PARASITE CELL BIOLOGY

Sue Vaughan

Abstract

Gametogenesis in Plasmodium spp. occurs within the Anopheles mosquito and is essential for sexual reproduction / differentiation and onwards transmission to mammalian hosts. To better understand the 3D organisation of male gametogenesis, we used serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) and serial-section cellular electron tomography (ssET) of P. berghei microgametocytes to examine key structures during male gamete formation. Our data reveals an elaborate organisation of axonemes coiling around the nucleus in opposite directions forming a central axonemal band in microgametocytes. Furthermore, we discover the nucleus of microgametes to be tightly coiled around the axoneme in a complex structure whose formation starts before microgamete emergence during exflagellation. Our discoveries of the detailed 3D organisation of the flagellated microgamete and the haploid genome highlight some of the atypical mechanisms of axoneme assembly and haploid genome organisation during male gamete formation in the malaria parasite.

Citation

Hair, M., Moreira-Leite, F., Ferguson, D. J. P., Ferguson, D. J., Zeeshan, M., Tewari, R., & Vaughan, S. (2023). Atypical flagella assembly and haploid genome coiling during male gamete formation in Plasmodium. Nature Communications, 14(1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43877-w

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Nov 22, 2023
Online Publication Date	Dec 13, 2023
Publication Date	Dec 13, 2023
Deposit Date	Feb 13, 2025
Publicly Available Date	Mar 13, 2025
Journal	Nature Communications
Electronic ISSN	2041-1723
Publisher	Nature Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	14
Issue	1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43877-w
Keywords	General Physics and Astronomy; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; General Chemistry; Multidisciplinary
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/28434232
Publisher URL	https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43877-w
Additional Information	Received: 30 May 2023; Accepted: 22 November 2023; First Online: 13 December 2023; : The authors declare no competing interests.

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