Malaria transmission relies on the production of gametes following ingestion by a mosquito. Here, we show that Ca2+-dependent protein kinase 4 controls three processes essential to progress from a single haploid microgametocyte to the release of eight flagellated microgametes in Plasmodium berghei. A myristoylated isoform is activated by Ca2+ to initiate a first genome replication within twenty seconds of activation. This role is mediated by a protein of the SAPS-domain family involved in S-phase entry. At the same time, CDPK4 is required for the assembly of the subsequent mitotic spindle and to phosphorylate a microtubule-associated protein important for mitotic spindle formation. Finally, a non-myristoylated isoform is essential to complete cytokinesis by activating motility of the male flagellum. This role has been linked to phosphorylation of an uncharacterised flagellar protein. Altogether, this study reveals how a kinase integrates and transduces multiple signals to control key cell-cycle transitions during Plasmodium gametogenesis.DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.26524.001
Beyond its essential roles in ensuring faithful chromosome segregation and genomic stability, the human Smc5/6 complex acts as an antiviral factor. It binds to and impedes the transcription of extrachromosomal DNA templates; an ability which is lost upon chromosomal DNA integration. How the complex distinguishes among different DNA templates is unknown. Here we show that, in human cells, Smc5/6 preferentially binds to circular rather than linear extrachromosomal DNA. We further show that this binding is unlikely due to differences in the chromatin composition. Instead, the transcriptional process, per se, and more specifically the accumulation of DNA secondary structures known to be substrates for topoisomerases, is responsible for Smc5/6 recruitment. Those findings, in conjunction with our genome-wide Smc5/6 binding analysis showing that Smc5/6 localizes at few but highly transcribe chromosome loci, reveal a previously unforeseen role of Smc5/6 in DNA topology management during transcription.
Malaria transmission relies on the production of gametes following ingestion by a mosquito. Here, we show that Ca 2+ -dependent protein kinase 4 controls three processes essential to progress from a single haploid microgametocyte to the release of eight flagellated microgametes in Plasmodium berghei. A myristoylated isoform is activated by Ca 2+ to initiate a first genome replication within twenty seconds of activation. This role is mediated by a protein of the SAPS-domain family involved in S-phase entry. At the same time, CDPK4 is required for the assembly of the subsequent mitotic spindle and to phosphorylate a microtubule-associated protein important for mitotic spindle formation. Finally, a non-myristoylated isoform is essential to complete cytokinesis by activating motility of the male flagellum. This role has been linked to phosphorylation of an uncharacterised flagellar protein. Altogether, this study reveals how a kinase integrates and transduces multiple signals to control key cell-cycle transitions during Plasmodium gametogenesis.
In the version of this article initially published online, the columns in Extended Data Figure 4c for Control versus Nse4a-KO were interleaved and should have appeared in two separate groups. The figure has been updated in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.
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