A chromosomal rearrangement in a P. falciparum histidine-rich protein gene is associated with the knobless phenotype

The significant morbidity and mortality associated with Plasmodium falciparum malaria results, in part, from the sequestration of parasitized erythrocytes in postcapillary venules, which may protect the parasite from splenic clearance and contribute to the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria. This sequestration has been linked to the expression of parasite-induced knob structures on the surface of the infected erythrocyte which mediate the cytoadherence phenomenon. While knobs are necessary for cytoadherence, they are not sufficient, requiring both parasite- and host-encoded proteins. Spontaneous mutants of P. falciparum have been isolated from in vitro cultures which lack the ability to express knobs and fail to cytoadhere. A histidine-rich protein has been described which is associated with the knobby phenotype and may be a constituent of the knob. We now report the isolation of complementary DNA clones for a knob-associated histidine-rich protein (KAHRP) and demonstrate that in knobless mutants the gene for this protein has undergone a rearrangement, resulting in a deletion in the 3' coding sequence. Moreover, the chromosome to which the KAHRP gene maps is rearranged in these mutants, producing a telomeric location of the truncated gene. These observations explain the loss of expression of the messenger RNA and protein in such mutants and may explain the loss of the knob itself. The implications for the generation of spontaneous mutations in the parasite by this novel mechanism are discussed.     

基于生态足迹法的黑龙江省林场所生态安全研究

为做好林场所生态安全评估,对林场所的经营管理做出积极调整,使林场所生态系统能够发挥更大的碳汇作用,成为中国实现碳中和、碳达峰目标进程中重要的“碳汇”平台,以黑龙江省伊春市青山林场所为例,在生态足迹法基础上,建立林场所生态承载力和生态足迹计算模型,定量分析2018年林场及经营所的整体生态安全和资源开发情况。结果表明：2018年,青山林场所生态安全处于可持续发展和生态协调阶段;生态空间总体呈现盈余状态,其中林地生态空间盈余为855.20 hm,约占林地生态承载力的31.4%。可见林场所生态仍在区域中发挥着巨大的经济效益、生态效益和社会效益。