{
  "id": 10116081,
  "title": "L-lactate is a regulator of gametocytogenesis in Plasmodium falciparum",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/l-lactate-is-a-regulator-of-gametocytogenesis-in-plasmodium-falciparum",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-26T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754385v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum relies on epigenetic processes for its biology. A recent study revealed that Plasmodium histones can be lactylated, in addition to being acetylated and methylated. This new epigenetic modification could be crucial for the host-parasite signaling, as severe malaria often involves high levels of lactate in the blood, which can lead to respiratory distress and potentially fatal outcomes for the patient. For the parasite, this condition may be advantageous, as it allows the parasite to adapt its virulence processes. Virulence processes regulated by epigenetic control include antigenic variation, invasion switching, and conversion to sexual gametocytes, i.e., gametocytogenesis. In order to investigate the impact of lactate on gametocytogenesis, researchers exposed laboratory-cultured parasites to 5mM L-lactate, a concentration at which hyperlactataemia is defined in malaria patients. The addition of L-lactate indeed stimulated gametocytogenesis. The GDV-1 gene, which plays a role in gametocytogenesis, showed increased expression within one cell cycle after the parasites were exposed to L-lactate. This suggests that the GDV-1 gene is part of the canonical epigenetic switch that triggers gametocytogenesis. Indeed, parasite histones rapidly became lactylated upon exposure to L-lactate, and chromatine profiling by CUT&Tag detected inducible lactylation of chromatin specifically upstream of the AP2-G gene, which encodes the master transcription factor for gametocytogenesis. Additionally, lactylation of the antisense RNA that regulates GDV-1 was also observed. Therefore, L-lactate joins S-adenosylmethionine as a metabolite capable of epigenetically regulating gametocytogenesis in Plasmodium falciparum.",
  "summary": "Epigenetic processes play important roles in the biology of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. We recently showed that Plasmodium histones are not only acetylated and methylated but also lactylated. This new epigenetic mark could form a particularly important axis of host-parasite signalling because severe malaria is often characterised by hyperlactataemia. In the human host this can…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}