Conditional gene expression in P. falciparum

• Grant number: 17/05622-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2017
• End date: December 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Mauro Ferreira de Azevedo
• Grantee: Caroline Lima dos Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Saúde e Sociedade (ISS). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/19316-3 - Regulation of P. falciparum egress from the host cell: identification of new targets, AP.JP

Abstract

The technology to genetically engineer malaria parasites to conditionally express endogenous or exogenous genes has allowed the investigation of genes essential to P. falciparum during the erythrocytic cycle. However, there are still some caveats, such as the poor regulation of gene expression. Due to the expression "leakage", genes products still perform their function in conditions where they should be silenced, impairing investigations based of phenotypic changes caused by loss of function. Joining distinct conditional expression systems, such as the ones based on protein or transcript stability, could improve regulation and make this technology more widely applicable. This project aims to test this hypothesis, evaluating whether systems combination renders better regulation. Strategy will rely on transient transfection of reporter plasmids harboring the gene encoding NanoLuciferase, flanked by regulatory domains, on P. falciparum, which will be maintained in the presence of absence of the ligands required to control protein or transcript stability. Expression will be correlated to reporter activity. (AU)