Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41986327›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

GID/CTLH E3 ligase complex control cell fate programs for sexual development of Plasmodium falciparum.

Danushka S Marapana, Sash Lopaticki, Balu Balan, Kitsanapong Reaksudsan, Simon A Cobbold, Niall D Geoghegan, Sachin Khurana, Stephen W Scally, Peter Hickey, Niva Jayakrishnan and 14 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

24 authors.

Danushka S MarapanaThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia. marapana@wehi.edu.au.
Sash LopatickiThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Balu BalanThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Kitsanapong ReaksudsanThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Simon A CobboldThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Niall D GeogheganThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9884-0769
Sachin KhuranaThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Stephen W ScallyThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4264-7772
Peter HickeyThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8153-6258
Niva JayakrishnanThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Vineet VaibhavThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Sukhdeep SpallThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Jumana M YousefThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2364-6299
Laura F DagleyThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4171-3712
Christopher D GoodmanUniversity of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Anton CozijnsenUniversity of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Geoffrey I McFaddenUniversity of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5351-1627
Kelly L RogersThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6755-0221
Aaron JexThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1285-7947
David KomanderThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8092-4320
James S McCarthyThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.
Christopher J TonkinThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7036-6222
Matthew W A DixonThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia. matthew.dixon@unimelb.edu.au.
Alan F CowmanThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Australia. cowman@wehi.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0001-5145-9004

Funding

Regulation of latent stage differentiation through central carbon metabolism and ubiquitinationR01AI172823 · NIAID · WALTER AND ELIZA HALL INST MEDICAL RES · PI Chris Tonkin · 2023 to 2026
$2.1M
Department of Health | National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) APP1176955Department of Health | National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) APP1194535NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI172823
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Transmission of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum requires the formation of specialised sexual cells called gametocytes. A hallmark of P. falciparum gametocyte development is its long duration, during which the parasite undergoes dramatic cellular remodelling including morphological, physiological and metabolic changes which result in the formation of a transmission ready, stage V gametocyte. Here we show that the PfGID E3 ubiquitin ligase complex regulates critical gametocyte cell fate programmes through the targeted ubiquitination of key proteins. Deletion of PfGID complex components leads to an arrest in gametocyte development and a loss of transmission to mosquitoes. PfGID governs gametocyte development by fine-tuning the protein levels of two substrates: the ZFP36 family RNAbinding protein GD1, and PfDPL, a cryptochrome-like protein. Our findings reveal that PfDPL regulates the expression of male-specific proteins early in gametocyte development that are essential for gametogenesis. In parallel to the PfDPL controlled cell fate program the RNA binding protein GD1 regulates transcripts crucial for gametocyte development by holding them in a state of translational repression. These findings illuminate the intricate molecular choreography underlying Plasmodium sexual development and provide insights into how single-celled eukaryotes execute cell-fate programmes to navigate complex life cycles and adapt to diverse host environments.

Indexed as

Plasmodium falciparumProtozoan ProteinsUbiquitin-Protein LigasesAnimalsGametogenesisMalaria, FalciparumUbiquitinationProtozoan ProteinsUbiquitin-Protein Ligases

Identifiers

PMID41986327
PMCPMC13083930

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.