Mutant/mutation
The mutant lacks expression of SLTRiP (and expresses GFP under the control of an unknown promoter)

Protein (function)
Sporozoite and liver stage tryptophan-rich protein, putative.
Different Plasmodium species express multiple tryptophan-rich proteins which are encoded by genes located near/in subtelomeric regions that often do not have a syntenic location between different species. The orthology between genes of different Plasmodium species is therefore less clear. See also PBANKA_052430 (tryptophan/threonine-rich antigen, putative) and RMgm-488, RMgm-729

Multiple sequence alignments shows that a segment of SLTRiP is conserved in Plasmodium species and contains a large number of position-constrained conserved tryptophan residues SLTRiP also contains a few cysteines (3 in P. berghei), but these are not conserved among other species.

In GeneDB (www.genedb.org) the PBANKA_070100 gene has been annotated as pseudogene (containing a  frameshift).

Phenotype
Normal blood stage development and production of oocysts and sporozoites. Reduction of the number of liver stages in vivo (21-fold fewer) and in vitro. One day delay in prepatent period in mice infected with mutant sporozoites. Evidence is presented for a reduced size of liver stages.

Additional information
Immunofluorescence evidence is presented for expression in sporozoites and liver stages and for export into the cytoplasm of the infected hepatocyte. No expression was detected in blood stages.

Other mutants