Discovery about fertilization points way to possible malaria vaccine

Dr. William Snell (center), professor of cell biology, led the local research of an organism that led to key insights into the basic mechanisms of reproduction. Drs. Yanjie Liu (left)... Click here for more information.

DALLAS – March 25, 2008 – International investigations of an organism that one UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher calls a “silly little green scum” have led to key insights into the basic mechanisms of reproduction.

The findings may help explain why species can almost never interbreed, and also point to a possible way to thwart the spread of malaria, a disease that kills about 1 million people each year, primarily children in sub-Saharan Africa.

In a study appearing online today and to be published in the April 14 issue of the journal Genes and Development, researchers from UT Southwestern have found that sexual reproduction begins with a two genetically different steps: First, two reproductive cells must first latch onto each other with one protein, and secondly, they must fuse their membranes to form a single cell using a different protein.

The UT Southwestern scientists collaborated with malaria experts at Imperial College London and found that the parasite causing the disease also uses this two-step process. When they blocked “male” and “female” malarial cells from fusing, spread of the mosquito-borne disease was stopped.

Their work started with a single-celled green alga nicknamed Chlamy (pronounced “clammy”), short for Chlamydomonas. This harmless organism, widely found in soil and water, is easy to grow and study under laboratory conditions.

“A silly little green scum has led us to an exciting new vaccine target for malaria,” said Dr. William Snell, professor of cell biology at UT Southwestern and co-senior author of the study.