Understanding the biology of malaria parasite fertilisation

• Honours

Fertilisation is a fundamental process in eukaryotes to produce new offspring. Malaria parasite fertilisation occurs in the female Anopheles mosquito midgut, resulting in the development of sporozoites which are then transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected mosquito. By blocking fertilisation, we prevent the transmission of malaria parasites from mosquito to human.

This project will utilise genetic knockouts of previously uncharacterised malaria parasite genes to decipher their potential role in parasite fertilisation. Functional characterization of these fertilisation proteins will involve understanding how they function in fertilisation and the successful transmission of the parasite from the mosquito. The results will inform on potential new malaria vaccine candidates for transmission blocking interventions.

Skills: CRISPR, malaria parasite culturing, insectary for transmission blocking assays, cell biology techniques

Malaria remains one of the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world. More than 40% of humans are under the risk of contracting this devastating disease caused by six species of Plasmodium parasites, of which Plasmodium falciparum is the deadliest.

Tham lab wants to understand mechanisms of malaria parasite entry and fertilisation by combining molecular parasitology with structural biology approaches and antibody discovery platforms. Our work is focused on developing novel interventions to stop infection and transmission of the malaria parasites.

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