SECRETORY TRANSPORT IN PLASMODIUM

The asexual blood stage of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum resides within the mature erythrocyte - a cell that has no intracellular organelles and few biosynthetic activities. However, Plasmodium, as an actively growing and dividing cell, has numerous requirements for the uptake of nutrients and expulsion of waste. Hence, the parasite must extensively remodel the erythrocyte to facilitate its survival, not only by exporting numerous proteins, but also by providing the requisite machinery for their trafficking. In this review, Heidi Elmendorf and Kasturi Haldor propose a model for secretion in P. falciparum.