Major
Biological Science
Anticipated Graduation Year
2020
Access Type
Restricted Access
Abstract
Like the human body is supported by the skeleton, the structure of each cell is maintained by cytoskeletal components, such as microtubules (MTs). MTs are biologically relevant because they play a major role in cellular processes such as cell division and cell morphology. When Plasmodium, a malaria-causing protozoan parasite, for example, is taken up from human blood into the midgut of a mosquito, the parasite transforms into specific stages. This highly polarized stage in the insect vector is maintained by subpellicular microtubules and are stabilized and regulated by various Microtubules Associated Proteins (MAPs). One such hypothetical MAP was recently identified in our lab, PbSAXO-1. Protein homologs in other protozoan parasites, such as Toxoplasma and Tyrpanosoma have been recently described as MAPs. I am investigating the putative MAP SAXO-1 in the model malaria mouse parasite, Plasmodium berghei.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Stefan Kanzok, Principal Investigator, Biology; Grifin Berge, Graduate Student, Biology
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Investigating SAXO-1, a novel putative microtubule associated protein (MAP) of the malaria parasite Plasmodium
Like the human body is supported by the skeleton, the structure of each cell is maintained by cytoskeletal components, such as microtubules (MTs). MTs are biologically relevant because they play a major role in cellular processes such as cell division and cell morphology. When Plasmodium, a malaria-causing protozoan parasite, for example, is taken up from human blood into the midgut of a mosquito, the parasite transforms into specific stages. This highly polarized stage in the insect vector is maintained by subpellicular microtubules and are stabilized and regulated by various Microtubules Associated Proteins (MAPs). One such hypothetical MAP was recently identified in our lab, PbSAXO-1. Protein homologs in other protozoan parasites, such as Toxoplasma and Tyrpanosoma have been recently described as MAPs. I am investigating the putative MAP SAXO-1 in the model malaria mouse parasite, Plasmodium berghei.