{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T05:53:24Z","timestamp":1776750804154,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776729600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The life cycle of\n                    <jats:italic>Plasmodium falciparum<\/jats:italic>\n                    is complex, involving asexual and sexual reproduction in humans and mosquitoes, respectively. The parasite transmission from humans to mosquito vectors requires the formation of female and male gametes through gametogenesis. The MKT1 domain proteins are key molecules involved in posttranscriptional gene regulation and cellular differentiation in protozoans, plants, and animals, and the presence of an MKT1 ortholog suggested a possible role in stage differentiation in\n                    <jats:italic>Plasmodium<\/jats:italic>\n                    . Here, we report that\n                    <jats:italic>Pf<\/jats:italic>\n                    MKT1 was expressed in both asexual and sexual stages. Parasites with a\n                    <jats:italic>MKT1<\/jats:italic>\n                    gene deletion (\n                    <jats:italic>P. falciparum Pfmkt1\u00af<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) proliferated asexually similar to wildtype NF54 parasites and differentiated into gametocytes forming mature male and female gametocytes. Further analysis showed that\n                    <jats:italic>P. falciparum Pfmkt1\u00af<\/jats:italic>\n                    gametocytes underwent gametogenesis to form male and female gametes and showed no apparent defect in flagellar gamete formation. This study identifies that MKT1-like protein is dispensable during asexual and sexual stage development.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1770301","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T05:34:33Z","timestamp":1776749673000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["An MKT1 domain protein is dispensable for erythrocytic stages of plasmodium falciparum"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Baishali","family":"Chakraborty","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University","place":["Ames, IA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samantha M.","family":"McGee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University","place":["Ames, IA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sudhir","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University","place":["Ames, IA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.4331\/wjbc.v7.i1.78","article-title":"RNA-binding proteins related to stress response and differentiation in protozoa","volume":"7","author":"Alves","year":"2016","journal-title":"World J. 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