9月27日，英国诺丁汉大学研究人员报告说，他们发现一种蛋白质对疟原虫雄性配子的移动能力起着关键作用，通过扰乱这种蛋白质的功能，可降低雄性配子与雌性配子配对的成功率。这一发现有助于防控疟疾。
在疟原虫的生存周期中，其孢子体通过蚊子叮咬进入人体，在血液中发育，到一定阶段后又通过蚊子叮咬进入蚊子体内，并变为雄性配子和雌性配子。它们在蚊子体内结合生成新的孢子体，再通过蚊子叮咬进入人体，如此循环往复。
诺丁汉大学研究人员在新一期美国学术刊物《科学公共图书馆综合卷》上报告说，他们发现，疟原虫雄性配子鞭毛结构中的PF16蛋白质影响着鞭毛功能的发挥，如果利用药物扰乱该蛋白质的功能，鞭毛的功能就会出现异常，从而使雄性配子移动性下降，导致配对效率降低。据介绍，疟原虫雄性配子依靠其伸出的鞭毛移动，寻找雌性配子并与之结合，
研究人员里塔·特瓦里表示，这一发现将有助于研发治疗疟疾的新手段。
疟原虫经蚊子传播给人后会引起疟疾，这种疾病在热带及亚热带地区发病较多，其症状包括发热、头痛、呕吐等，严重时可致人死亡。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐英文摘要：
PLoS ONE 5(9): e12901. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012901
The Armadillo Repeat Protein PF16 Is Essential for Flagellar Structure and Function in Plasmodium Male Gametes
Ursula Straschil1,2#, Arthur M. Talman2#, David J. P. Ferguson3, Karen A. Bunting1, Zhengyao Xu1, Elizabeth Bailes1, Robert E. Sinden2, Anthony A. Holder4, Elizabeth F. Smith5, Juliet C. Coates6, Rita Tewari1,2*
1 Institute of Genetics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2 Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom, 3 Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom, 4 Division of Parasitology, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London, United Kingdom, 5 Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America, 6 School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Malaria, caused by the apicomplexan parasite Plasmodium, threatens 40% of the world's population. Transmission between vertebrate and insect hosts depends on the sexual stages of the life-cycle. The male gamete of Plasmodium parasite is the only developmental stage that possesses a flagellum. Very little is known about the identity or function of proteins in the parasite's flagellar biology. Here, we characterise a Plasmodium PF16 homologue using reverse genetics in the mouse malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. PF16 is a conserved Armadillo-repeat protein that regulates flagellar structure and motility in organisms as diverse as green algae and mice. We show that P. berghei PF16 is expressed in the male gamete flagellum, where it plays a crucial role maintaining the correct microtubule structure in the central apparatus of the axoneme as studied by electron microscopy. Disruption of the PF16 gene results in abnormal flagellar movement and reduced fertility, but does not lead to complete sterility, unlike pf16 mutations in other organisms. Using homology modelling, bioinformatics analysis and complementation studies in Chlamydomonas, we show that some regions of the PF16 protein are highly conserved across all eukaryotes, whereas other regions may have species-specific functions. PF16 is the first ARM-repeat protein characterised in the malaria parasite genus Plasmodium and this study opens up a novel model for analysis of Plasmodium flagellar biology that may provide unique insights into an ancient organelle and suggest novel intervention strategies to control the malaria parasite.
