Gliding motility of Plasmodium merozoites

Plasmodium malaria parasites use a unique form of locomotion termed gliding motility to move through host tissues and invade cells. The process is substrate-dependent and powered by an actomyosin motor that drives the posterior translocation of extracellular adhesins, which in turn propel the parasite forward. Gliding motility is essential for tissue translocation in the sporozoite and ookinete stages, however, the short-lived erythrocyte-invading merozoite stage has never been observed to undergo gliding movement. Here for the first time we reveal that blood stage Plasmodium merozoites use gliding motility for translocation in addition to host cell invasion. We demonstrate that two human infective species, P. falciparum and P. knowlesi, have distinct merozoite motility profiles reflective of divergent invasion strategies. The process is powered by a conserved actomyosin motor and glideosome complex and is regulated by a complex signaling pathway. This significantly enhances our understanding of merozoite-host interactions in malaria parasites.