AN 88-KDA PROTEIN OF PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM IS RELATED TO THE BAND-3-BINDING DOMAIN OF HUMAN ERYTHROCYTE ANKYRIN

Three tryptic-peptide sequences of an 88-kDa pair of phosphoproteins of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum were determined. They exhibit a striking similarity to corresponding sequences of the 89-kDa domain of human erythrocyte ankyrin. [S-35]Methionine labeling of the two proteins demonstrated their parasitic origin. Using an appropriate oligonucleotide probe, Southern-blot analysis of genomic malaria DNA and Northern-blot analysis of malaria RNA suggest the existence of ankyrin-related sequences in the parasite genome and the presence of an ankyrin-related transcript of about 3.2 kb. Our studies provide further evidence of malaria-specific analogues of host-cell proteins, implying an unusual kind of parasite/host interaction.