Discussion

Malaria parasites divide and proliferate within host cells in a unique way that is different from that of many eukaryotes. The parasite undergoes two unusual types of mitosis during its life cycle. During asexual development (schizogony) the parasite undergoes asynchronous nuclear divisions preceding cytokinesis. This is defined by the maintenance of the nuclear membrane, within which the microtubule organizing centre (MTOC) is embedded. During male gametogenesis, three rounds of rapid replication are followed by cell division and chromosome condensation to produce eight microgametes. Plasmodium’s repeated ‘closed’ endomitosis in the absence of initial cytokinesis, compared to ‘open’ mitosis of mammalian cells, is predicted to be uniquely regulated. In most organism process of mitosis is regulated by cyclin, anaphase promoting complex, kinases and phosphatases. The process of cell proliferation and the molecules controlling this atypical closed mitosis in Plasmodium is very poorly understood. The results obtained from our recent research on these molecules in malaria parasite cell division will be presented.