RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Genome-wide functional analysis reveals key roles for kinesins in the mammalian and mosquito stages of the malaria parasite life cycle JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2021.05.26.445751 DO 10.1101/2021.05.26.445751 A1 Mohammad Zeeshan A1 Ravish Rashpa A1 David J Ferguson A1 Steven Abel A1 Zeinab Chahine A1 Declan Brady A1 Sue Vaughan A1 Carolyn A. Moores A1 Karine G. Le Roch A1 Mathieu Brochet A1 Anthony A. Holder A1 Rita Tewari YR 2022 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/06/15/2021.05.26.445751.abstract AB Kinesins are microtubule-based motors important in cell division, motility, polarity, and intracellular transport in many eukaryotes. However, they are poorly studied in the divergent eukaryotic pathogens- Plasmodium spp., the causative agents of malaria, which manifest atypical aspects of cell division and plasticity of morphology throughout the lifecycle in both mammalian and mosquito hosts. Here we describe a genome-wide screen of Plasmodium kinesins, revealing diverse subcellular locations and functions in spindle assembly, axoneme formation and cell morphology. Surprisingly, only kinesin-13 is essential for growth in the mammalian host while the other eight kinesins are required during the proliferative and invasive stages of parasite transmission through the mosquito vector. In-depth analyses of kinesin-13 and kinesin-20 revealed functions in microtubule dynamics during apical cell polarity formation, spindle assembly, and axoneme biogenesis. These findings help us to understand the importance of microtubule motors and may be exploited to discover new therapeutic interventions against malaria.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.