Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium Falciparum, transmitted via mosquito’s bites. At the infection blood stage, these unicellular parasites invade red blood cells (RBCs) We study the motion of the parasite during the invasion process. To penetrate into the host cell, the parasite should first reorient its apical part towards the RBC membrane. For this purpose, the parasite generates different movements that allow him to find the correct position to form a specific junction and invade the cell.  To understand how the parasite is able to move and reorient without the aid of cilia, flagella or deformations, we performed a detailed analysis of the parasite trajectories and orientation on rigid substrate. We observe that the parasite explores all degrees of freedom with in-plane rotation, translation and flipping. We characterize these trajectories using correlation analysis and we discuss the possible mechanisms that could explain these peculiar trajectories.

Team

• Gladys Massiera
• Manouk Abkarian
• Catherine Brawn-Breton

Thesis