mSphere of Influence: an Army Marching on Its Stomach-Malaria Parasites Sense and Subvert Host Nutrition

Clare Harding works on the metal biology of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how two papers from the laboratory of Maria Mota, Host-mediated regulation of superinfection in malaria by Portugal et al. (S. Portugal, C. Carret, M. Recker, A. E. Armitage, et al., Nat Med 17:732-737, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2368) and Nutrient sensing modulates malaria parasite virulence by Mancio-Silva et al. (L. Mancio-Silva, K. Slavic, M. T. Grilo Ruivo, A. R. Grosso, et al., Nature 547:213-216, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/ nature23009), made an impact on her understanding of host-pathogen interactions by examining the complex interplay between parasites and their hosts' nutritional status.

Automated summary

Clare Harding's research on the metal biology of Toxoplasma gondii has been influenced by two studies from Maria Mota's lab, which focus on the interplay between parasites and their hosts' nutritional status.