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The BioMalPar conference takes place online and the synchronisation of Plasmodium infection is controlled by the parasite’s own internal clock.
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Transcript:
Research into the Plasmodium parasite was shared this week at the BioMalPar Conference. It’s normally held in-person at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory at Heidelberg University in Germany, but was this year moved online because of the coronavirus. Research was divided into seven areas from emerging challenges and new tools to transmission biology. Because the event took place online, the barrier to entry was significantly reduced, allowing for a higher-than-usual number of 389 participants to attend, the majority of which PhD students. As the two-day conference came to an end, Andy Waters of Glasgow University and Julian Rayner of Cambridge University closed the virtual meeting, dubbing it a successful and ‘wonderful experiment’.
And, the synchronisation of Plasmodium infection is controlled by the parasite’s own internal clock. Researchers found a ‘strikingly rhythmic’ circadian and cell cycle oscillator in four strains of P. falciparum malaria.
Sources:
BioMalPar XVI: Biology and Pathology of the Malaria Parasite – Virtual
An Intrinsic Oscillator Drives the Blood Stage Cycle of the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium Falciparum
Image Credits: Thomas Locke
Scientific Advisor: Katharine Collins, Radboud University Medical Centre
