Protozoan parasites have developed elaborate motility systems that facilitate infection and
dissemination. For example, amoebae use actin-rich membrane extensions called …

Apicomplexan parasites, such as human malaria parasites, have complex lifecycles
encompassing multiple and diverse environmental niches. Invading, replicating, and …

Gliding motility proceeds with little changes in cell shape and often results from actively
driven surface flows of adhesins binding to the extracellular environment. It allows for fast …

Malaria infection starts with injection of Plasmodium sporozoites by an Anopheles mosquito
into the skin of the mammalian host. How sporozoites locate and enter a blood vessel is a …

Plasmodium sporozoites are the crescent-shaped forms of malaria parasites injected from
the salivary glands of mosquitoes into the skins of their vertebrate hosts. To proceed towards …

Plasmodium sporozoite transmission is a critical population bottleneck in parasite life-cycle
progression and, hence, a target for prophylactic drugs and vaccines. The recent progress of …

Parasitic protozoa of the phylum Apicomplexa cause a range of human and animal
diseases. Their complex life cycles–often heteroxenous with sexual and asexual phases in …

Toxoplasma gondii possesses a limited set of actin-regulatory proteins and relies on only
three formins (FRMs) to nucleate and polymerize actin. We combined filamentous actin (F …

The first obligatory phase of mammalian infection by Plasmodium parasites, the causative
agents of malaria, occurs in the liver of the host. This stage of Plasmodium infection bears …

Apicomplexan parasites are thought to actively invade the host cell by gliding motility. This
movement is powered by the parasite's own actomyosin system, and depends on the …