PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Rajan Pandey
AU  - Steven Abel
AU  - Matthew Boucher
AU  - Richard J Wall
AU  - Mohammad Zeeshan
AU  - Edward Rea
AU  - Aline Freville
AU  - Xueqing Maggie Lu
AU  - Declan Brady
AU  - Emilie Daniel
AU  - Rebecca R. Stanway
AU  - Sally Wheatley
AU  - Gayani Batugedara
AU  - Thomas Hollin
AU  - Andrew R. Bottrill
AU  - Dinesh Gupta
AU  - Anthony A. Holder
AU  - Karine G. Le Roch
AU  - Rita Tewari
TI  - <em>Plasmodium</em> condensin core subunits (SMC2/SMC4) mediate atypical mitosis and are essential for parasite proliferation and transmission
AID  - 10.1101/674028
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 674028
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/06/17/674028.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/06/17/674028.full
AB  - Condensin is a multi-subunit protein complex that regulates chromosome organization, segregation and condensation during cell division in eukaryotes. In Plasmodium spp., the causative agent of malaria, cell division is atypical and the role of condensin is unclear. Here we examine the role of SMC2 and SMC4, the core subunits of condensin during endomitosis in schizogony and endoreduplication in male gametogenesis. SMC2 and SMC4 localize at discrete foci during schizogony, and with a diffuse nuclear distribution during male gametogenesis. ChIP-seq analyses suggest a centromeric location of SMC2/SMC4 only during schizogony. Co-immunoprecipitation data reveal the presence of both condensin complex I and II during male gametogenesis, but only the SMC2/SMC4 heterodimer during schizogony. Finally, knockdown of smc2 and smc4 gene expression revealed their essential roles in parasite proliferation and transmission. This study shows that condensin core subunits (SMC2/SMC4) have differential complex and distinct functions at different stages of the parasite life cycle.