ArticleThe EMBO journal2019
Microtubule number and length determine cellular shape and function in Plasmodium.
Article in The EMBO journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed.
- Essential nucleus-apical pole linkage maintains division fidelity during Plasmodium progeny formation.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- Paclitaxel-induced tubulin dysfunction stalls parasite development: synergistic potential with artemisinin against resistant strains.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Traction force generation in Plasmodium sporozoites is modulated by a surface adhesin.Journal of microscopy · 2026Article
- Imaging malaria parasites across scales and time.Journal of microscopy · 2026Review
- The essential function of the apical polar ring during the blood stage ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Cellular Hallmarks From Volume Electron Microscopy Reveal Developmental Progression of Plasmodium Ookinetes.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Highly divergent apicomplexan cytoskeletons provide additional models for actin biology.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- Influence of biophysical and biochemical cues on Plasmodium sporozoite dynamics in skin tissue.Parasites & vectors · 2025Review
- Microtubule inner proteins ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Luminal acetylation of microtubules is not essential forMicrobial cell (Graz, Austria) · 2025Article
- TBCC Domain-Containing Protein Regulates Sporulation and Virulence ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- A subpellicular microtubule dynein transport machinery regulates ookinete morphogenesis for mosquito transmission of Plasmodium yoelii.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Designing highly efficient interlocking interactions in anisotropic active particles.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Variable microtubule architecture in the malaria parasite.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Plasmodium schizogony, a chronology of the parasite's cell cycle in the blood stage.PLoS pathogens · 2023Review
- Article
- Apical anchorage and stabilization of subpellicular microtubules by apical polar ring ensures Plasmodium ookinete infection in mosquito.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Plasmodium sporozoite disintegration during skin passage limits malaria parasite transmission.EMBO reports · 2022Article
- Phosphorylation of myosin A regulates gliding motility and is essential for Plasmodium transmission.EMBO reports · 2022Article
- Genome-wide functional analysis reveals key roles for kinesins in the mammalian and mosquito stages of the malaria parasite life cycle.PLoS biology · 2022Article
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
Microtubules are cytoskeletal filaments essential for many cellular processes, including establishment and maintenance of polarity, intracellular transport, division and migration. In most metazoan cells, the number and length of microtubules are highly variable, while they can be precisely defined in some protozoan organisms. However, in either case the significance of these two key parameters for cells is not known. Here, we quantitatively studied the impact of modulating microtubule number and length in Plasmodium, the protozoan parasite causing malaria. Using a gene deletion and replacement strategy targeting one out of two α-tubulin genes, we show that chromosome segregation proceeds in the oocysts even in the absence of microtubules. However, fewer and shorter microtubules severely impaired the formation, motility and infectivity of Plasmodium sporozoites, the forms transmitted by the mosquito, which usually contain 16 microtubules. We found that α-tubulin expression levels directly determined the number of microtubules, suggesting a high nucleation barrier as supported by a mathematical model. Infectious sporozoites were only formed in parasite lines featuring at least 10 microtubules, while parasites with 9 or fewer microtubules failed to transmit.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.