Plasmodium ARK1 regulates spindle formation during atypical mitosis and forms a divergent chromosomal passenger complex - PubMed
6 hours ago
- #Plasmodium
- #Mitosis
- #Antimalarial
- Plasmodium ARK1 is identified as a key regulator of spindle formation during atypical mitosis.
- ARK1 controls kinetochore dynamics and mitotic progression in Plasmodium spp., affecting schizogony and male gametogony.
- Depletion of ARK1 disrupts spindle biogenesis, kinetochore segregation, karyokinesis, and cytokinesis, impacting parasite transmission.
- ARK1 forms a non-canonical chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) with divergent inner centromere proteins (INCENP-A and INCENP-B), lacking Survivin and Borealin.
- Comparative genomics suggests lineage-specific duplications of INCENPs in apicomplexans, indicating evolutionary rewiring of CPC architecture.
- The ARK1-INCENP interface is highlighted as a potential target for antimalarial intervention across multiple parasite stages.