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

Molly Hair, Flávia Moreira-Leite, David J. P. Ferguson, Mohammad Zeeshan, Rita Tewari () and Sue Vaughan ()
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Molly Hair: Oxford Brookes University
Flávia Moreira-Leite: Oxford Brookes University
David J. P. Ferguson: Oxford Brookes University
Mohammad Zeeshan: University of Nottingham
Rita Tewari: University of Nottingham
Sue Vaughan: Oxford Brookes University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43877-w

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