1. Generation and characterization of mutants in the proteolytic processing site of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of Plasmodium berghei. 2. Fluorescent Plasmodium berghei sporozoites and pre-erythrocytic stages: A new tool to study mosquito and mamm

The circumsporozoite protein (CSP) is the major surface protein of Plasmodium sporozoites, the causative agents of malaria. CSP is required for sporozoite development in the mosquito and plays an essential role in sporozoite adhesion to target cells. Despite its importance in the life of the parasite, little is known about the structure of the protein. Recent data from our lab demonstrate that the Plasmodium berghei CSP is proteolytically cleaved by a papain-family cysteine protease. These data also suggest that the cleavage site is found in the highly conserved Region I. In this study, various mutations in the predicted proteolytic cleavage site of P. berghei CSP were made and the resulting phenotype of the mutant sporozoites was characterized.;In other studies, a stably transformed clonal line of Plasmodium berghei, PbFluspo, in which sporogonic and pre-erythrocytic liver-stage parasites are autonomously fluorescent was constructed and characterized.