{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T13:07:16Z","timestamp":1789650436751,"version":"4.0.0"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]]},"group-title":"Biophysics","reference-count":63,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]],"date-time":"2026-09-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789171200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"award":["NIH AI1323"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIH AI1323"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/001d55x84","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["ANR-25-CE44-6310"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ANR-25-CE44-6310"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00rbzpz17","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>\n                  Malaria is a disease caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus\n                  <jats:italic>Plasmodium<\/jats:italic>\n                  . These organisms express two atypical class-XIV myosins: Myosin A (MyoA), a core component of the glideosome expressed throughout the entire lifecycle, and Myosin B (MyoB), which is restricted to invasive stages and localizes to the apical region. Here, we determine the crystal structure of\n                  <jats:italic>Plasmodium falciparum<\/jats:italic>\n                  MyoB (PfMyoB) in the Rigor state and identify its essential light chain as the same subunit bound to MyoA. Combining structural analysis, molecular dynamics simulations and in vitro kinetic and motility assays, we show that PfMyoB is a slow motor optimized for force production during invasion. The N-terminal extensions of PfMyoA and PfMyoB exert distinct effects on each motor\u2019s mechanochemistry. Altogether, these findings reveal how Plasmodium myosins have evolved specialized functions during the complex parasite lifecycle and provide insight into developing multi-target inhibitors of erythrocytic invasion based on the PfMyoA inhibitor KNX-002.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.09.11.750570","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,13]],"date-time":"2026-09-13T05:40:11Z","timestamp":1789278011000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["<i>Plasmodium falciparum<\/i>\n                  Myosin B is a slow motor optimized for force generation"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"given":"James P.","family":"Robblee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dihia","family":"Moussaoui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Structural Motility, Institut Curie, Universit\u00e9 Paris Sciences et Lettres, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, CNRS UMR144, 75248, Paris, France"},{"name":"EMBL Grenoble, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38042, Grenoble, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carol S.","family":"Bookwalter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Auguin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Structural Motility, Institut Curie, Universit\u00e9 Paris Sciences et Lettres, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, CNRS UMR144, 75248, Paris, France"},{"name":"Laboratoire de Physiologie, Ecologie et Environnement (P2E), UPRES EA 1207\/USC INRAE-1328, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Universit\u00e9 d\u2019Orl\u00e9ans, Orl\u00e9ans, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patricia M.","family":"Fagnant","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jill E.","family":"MacFarlane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael J.","family":"Previs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8566-0336","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anne","family":"Houdusse","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Structural Motility, Institut Curie, Universit\u00e9 Paris Sciences et Lettres, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, CNRS UMR144, 75248, Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kathleen M.","family":"Trybus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julien","family":"Robert-Paganin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Structural Motility, Institut Curie, Universit\u00e9 Paris Sciences et Lettres, Sorbonne Universit\u00e9, CNRS UMR144, 75248, Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2026091705250629000_2026.09.11.750570v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.biophys.050708.133751"},{"key":"2026091705250629000_2026.09.11.750570v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemrev.9b00264"},{"key":"2026091705250629000_2026.09.11.750570v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"3. Fr\u00e9nal, K. , Krishnan, A. & Soldati-Favre, D . The Actomyosin Systems in Apicomplexa. in Myosins (ed. Coluccio, L. 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