Skip to main content
Dryad

Data from: Atlas of Plasmodium falciparum intraerythrocytic development using expansion microscopy

Liffner, Benjamin1; Cepeda Diaz, Ana Karla2; Blauwkamp, James1; Anaguano, David3; Frölich, Sonja4; Muralidharan, Vasant3; Wilson, Danny W.4; Dvorin, Jeffrey5; Absalon, Sabrina1

Published Sep 28, 2023 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9s4mw6mp4

Data files

Sep 28, 2023 version files 288.44 GB

Click names to download individual files Select up to 11 GB of files for zip download

Abstract

Apicomplexan parasites exhibit tremendous diversity in much of their fundamental cell biology, but study of these organisms using light microscopy is often hindered by their small size. Ultrastructural expansion microscopy (U-ExM) is a microscopy preparation method that physically expands the sample ∼4.5x. Here, we apply U-ExM to the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum during the asexual blood stage of its lifecycle to understand how this parasite is organized in three-dimensions. Using a combination of dye-conjugated reagents and immunostaining, we have catalogued 13 different P. falciparum structures or organelles across the intraerythrocytic development of this parasite and made multiple observations about fundamental parasite cell biology. We describe that the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) and its associated proteins anchor the nucleus to the parasite plasma membrane during mitosis. Furthermore, the rhoptries, Golgi, basal complex, and inner membrane complex, which form around this anchoring site while nuclei are still dividing, are concurrently segregated and maintain an association to the MTOC until the start of segmentation. We also show that the mitochondrion and apicoplast undergo sequential fission events while maintaining an MTOC association during cytokinesis. Collectively, this study represents the most detailed ultrastructural analysis of P. falciparum during its intraerythrocytic development to date, and sheds light on multiple poorly understood aspects of its organelle biogenesis and fundamental cell biology.