Identification of a new export signal in Plasmodium yoelii: identification of a new exportome

Summary Development of the erythrocytic malaria parasite requires targeting of parasite proteins into multiple compartments located within and beyond the para- site confine. Beyond the PEXEL/VTS pathway and its characterized players, increasing amount of evidence has highlighted the existence of pro- teins exported using alternative export-signal(s)/ pathway(s); hence, the exportomes currently pre- dicted are incomplete. The nature of these ex- ported proteins which could have a prominent role in most of the Plasmodium species remains elusive. Using P. yoelii variant proteins, we identi- fied a signal associated to lipophilic region that mediates export of P. yoelii proteins. This non- PEXEL signal termed PLASMED is defined by semi-conserved residues and possibly a second- ary structure. In vivo characterization of exported- proteins indicated that PLASMED is a bona fide export-signal that allowed us to identify an unseen P. yoelii exportome. The repertoire of the newly predicted exported proteins opens up perspec- tives for unravelling the remodelling of the host- cell by the parasite, against which new therapies could be elaborated.