ArticleNucleic acids research2009
Molecular genetics and comparative genomics reveal RNAi is not functional in malaria parasites.
Article in Nucleic acids research, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers.
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Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed.
- GC Content and Thermal Stability of Double-Stranded RNA: Fragments of MicrosporidiaInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Heterochromatin de novo formation and maintenance in Plasmodium falciparum.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Exploring Genetic Silencing: RNAi and CRISPR-Cas Potential against Drug Resistance in Malaria.Mini reviews in medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Epigenetic Regulation and Chromatin Remodeling in Malaria Parasites.Annual review of microbiology · 2023Review
- Article
- Differentially expressed transcripts of Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae (Cnidaria) between carrier and dead-end hosts involved in key biological processes: novel insights from a coupled approach of FACS and RNA sequencing.Veterinary research · 2023Article
- Discovery of RUF6 ncRNA-interacting proteins involved inLife science alliance · 2023Article
- CRISPR-Cas13 in malaria parasite: Diagnosis and prospective gene function identification.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Review
- Erythropoiesis and Malaria, a Multifaceted Interplay.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Emerging biology of noncoding RNAs in malaria parasites.PLoS pathogens · 2022Review
- CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic screens in malaria parasites: small genomes, big impact.Biochemical Society transactions · 2022Review
- A Leak-Free Inducible CRISPRi/a System for Gene Functional Studies in Plasmodium falciparum.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- MicroRNAs: master regulators in host-parasitic protist interactions.Open biology · 2022Review
- Investigation of an Allosteric Deoxyhypusine Synthase Inhibitor inMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Paving the Way: Contributions of Big Data to Apicomplexan and Kinetoplastid Research.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Review
- A comparative study of microRNAs in different stages ofFrontiers in veterinary science · 2022Article
- The RNA structurome in the asexual blood stages of malaria pathogenRNA biology · 2021Article
- Prediction of gene expression regulation by human microRNAs in Plasmodium falciparum.Genes and environment : the official journal of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society · 2021Article
- Malaria in the 'Omics Era'.Genes · 2021Review
- Some conditions apply: Systems for studying Plasmodium falciparum protein function.PLoS pathogens · 2021Review
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Techniques for targeted genetic disruption in Plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, are currently intractable for those genes that are essential for blood stage development. The ability to use RNA interference (RNAi) to silence gene expression would provide a powerful means to gain valuable insight into the pathogenic blood stages but its functionality in Plasmodium remains controversial. Here we have used various RNA-based gene silencing approaches to test the utility of RNAi in malaria parasites and have undertaken an extensive comparative genomics search using profile hidden Markov models to clarify whether RNAi machinery exists in malaria. These investigative approaches revealed that Plasmodium lacks the enzymology required for RNAi-based ablation of gene expression and indeed no experimental evidence for RNAi was observed. In its absence, the most likely explanations for previously reported RNAi-mediated knockdown are either the general toxicity of introduced RNA (with global down-regulation of gene expression) or a specific antisense effect mechanistically distinct from RNAi, which will need systematic analysis if it is to be of use as a molecular genetic tool for malaria parasites.
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Registered trials
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