Mutant/mutation
The mutant lacks expression of GAMA and expresses the reporter GFP-Luciferase under the constitutive eefia promoter.

Protein (function)
GAMA is a micronemal protein with a C-terminal GPI-anchor. P. berghei GAMA consists of 625 aa with a predicted molecular mass of ~71 kDa, (signal peptide cleavage results in a 69 kDa mass). In P. falciparum, two additional asparagine rich repeat regions result in a larger 738 aa protein (predicted molecular weight ~85 kDa, 83 kDa after cleavage of the signal peptide). For P. berghei, SignalP-5.0 predicts a signal peptide with a cleavage site at S21/L22. For P.falciparum, cleavage is predicted at the same locus, A21/L22.
P. berghei and P. falciparum share 44.8% identity across the full-length sequence, with areas of higher conservation found towards the N-terminus (residues 64-347 = 60% identity) and C-terminus (residues 501-700 = 60% identity) split by a central repeat region of low shared identity (residues 348-500, with predicted disorderly structure. The C-terminal transmembrane domain is predicted to be cleaved and appended with a GPI anchor. Downstream of signal peptide cleavage, P. falciparum contains seven cysteine residues prior to the central repeat region and one downstream which are conserved across all Plasmodium species investigated. P. berghei and other rodent infective species of Plasmodium bear an additional cysteine at position 152 in the alignment. GAMA is present in all Plasmodium species and indeed all other intracellular apicomplexans.

Phenotype
Wild type-like blood stage development. Wild type numbers of ookinetes are produced. (Strongly) reduced oocyst production and strongly reduced numbers of midgut- and salivary gland sporozoites. Evidence is provided for a defect in the egress of sporozoites from oocysts. Sporozoites show strongly reduced motility. (Midgut) sporozoites are unable to establish an infection in mice (after intravenous injection). 

Additional information

Other mutants