Mechanisms of malaria parasite egress from red blood cells

疟疾的临床症状源于血液中寄生虫的循环复制。这需要成熟寄生虫从其宿主红细胞中排出（退出），在此期间寄生虫破坏其封闭的空泡和红细胞宿主膜。丰富的寄生虫表面蛋白MSP1在出口中起着关键作用。该项目侧重于导致膜透化和破裂的级联事件。学生将使用疟疾寄生虫的遗传操作和光学显微镜生成MSP 1的条件突变体，然后使用冷冻电子显微镜和断层扫描来检查膜破裂的分子和细胞机制。

The clinical symptoms of malaria arise from cycles of parasite replication in the blood. This requires egress (exit) of mature parasites from their host erythrocyte, during which the parasites break down their enclosing vacuole and erythrocyte host membranes. The abundant parasite surface protein MSP1 plays a key role in egress. This project focuses on the cascade of events leading to membrane permeabilisation and rupture. The student will generate conditional mutants of MSP1 using genetic manipulation and optical microscopy of malaria parasites, then use cryo electron microscopy and tomography to examine the molecular and cellular mechanisms of membrane disruption.