Publications

Darif N.D, Ganter M, Dziekan J.M, Kilian N, Brancucci N, Ng C, de Vries L.E, Guttery D, Philip N, Boddey J.A, Metwally N.G, Okumu F, Kooij T.W.A, Absalon S, Bryant J.M. BioMalPar XX: looking back on, and forward from, 20 years of malaria research. Trends Parasitol. 2024;40(8):651-656. DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.06.012

Day C.J, Favuzza P, Bielfeld S, Haselhorst T, Seefeldt L, Hauser J, Shewell L.K, Flück C, Poole J, Jen F.E.-C, Schäfer A, Dangy J.-P, Gilberger T.-W, França C.T, Duraisingh M.T, Tamborrini M, Brancucci N.M.B, Grüring C, Filarsky M, Jennings M.P, Pluschke G. The essential malaria protein PfCyRPA targets glycans to invade erythrocytes. Cell Rep. 2024;43(4):114012. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114012

Hellingman A, Sifoniou K, Buser T, Thommen B.T, Walz A, Passecker A, Collins J, Hupfeld M, Wittlin S, Witmer K, Brancucci N.M.B. Next generation chemiluminescent probes for antimalarial drug discovery. ACS Infect Dis. 2024;10(4):1286−1297. DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00707

Voss T.S, Brancucci N.M. Regulation of sexual commitment in malaria parasites - a complex affair. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2024;79:102469. DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102469

Wyss M, Thommen B.T, Kofler J, Carrington E, Brancucci N.M.B, Voss T.S. The three Plasmodium falciparum Aurora-related kinases display distinct temporal and spatial associations with mitotic structures in asexual blood stage parasites and gametocytes. mSphere. 2024;9(9):e0046524. DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00465-24

Kuehnel R.M, Ganga E, Balestra A.C, Suarez C, Wyss M, Klages N, Brusini L, Maco B, Brancucci N, Voss T.S, Soldati D, Brochet M. A Plasmodium membrane receptor platform integrates cues for egress and invasion in blood forms and activation of transmission stages. Sci Adv. 2023;9(24):eadf2161. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf2161

Ruiz J.L, Reimering S, Escobar-Prieto J.D, Brancucci N.M.B, Echeverry D.F, Abdi A.I, Marti M, Gómez-Díaz E, Otto T.D. From contigs towards chromosomes: automatic improvement of long read assemblies (ILRA). Brief Bioinform. 2023;24(4):1-11. DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbad248

Thommen B.T, Dziekan J.M, Achcar F, Tjia S, Passecker A, Buczak K, Gumpp C, Schmidt A, Rottmann M, Grüring C, Marti M, Bozdech Z, Brancucci N.M.B. Genetic validation of PfFKBP35 as an antimalarial drug target. eLife. 2023;12(RP86975). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.86975

Thommen B.T, Passecker A, Buser T, Hitz E, Voss T.S, Brancucci N.M.B. Revisiting the effect of pharmaceuticals on transmission stage formation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022;12:802341. DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.802341

Boltryk S.D, Passecker A, Alder A, Carrington E, van de Vegte-Bolmer M, van Gemert G.J, van der Starre A, Beck H.P, Sauerwein R.W, Kooij T.W.A, Brancucci N.M.B, Proellochs N.I, Gilberger T.W, Voss T.S. CRISPR/Cas9-engineered inducible gametocyte producer lines as a valuable tool for Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission research. Nat Commun. 2021;12:4806. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24954-4

Bui H.T.N, Passecker A, Brancucci N.M.B, Voss T.S. Investigation of heterochromatin protein 1 function in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum using a conditional domain deletion and swapping approach. mSphere. 2021;6(1):e01220-20. DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.01220-20

Hitz E, Grüninger O, Passecker A, Wyss M, Scheurer C, Wittlin S, Beck H.P, Brancucci N.M.B, Voss T.S. The catalytic subunit of Plasmodium falciparum casein kinase 2 is essential for gametocytogenesis. Commun Biol. 2021;4(1):336. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01873-0

Hitz E, Wiedemar N, Passecker A, Graça B.A.S, Scheurer C, Wittlin S, Brancucci N.M.B, Vakonakis I, Mäser P, Voss T.S. The 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 is an essential upstream activator of protein kinase A in malaria parasites. PLoS Biol. 2021;19(12):e3001483. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001483

Brancucci N.M.B, Heussler V.T, Gruring C. Targeting Plasmodium plasmepsin V: hitting two birds with one stone. Trends Parasitol. 2020;36(2):85-87. DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.12.006

De Niz M, Kehrer J, Brancucci N.M.B, Moalli F, Reynaud E.G, Stein J.V, Frischknecht F. 3D imaging of undissected optically cleared Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes and midguts infected with Plasmodium parasites. PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0238134. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238134

Alam M.M, Sanchez-Azqueta A, Janha O, Flannery E.L, Mahindra A, Mapesa K, Char A.B, Sriranganadane D, Brancucci N.M.B, Antonova-Koch Y, Crouch K, Simwela N.V, Millar S.B, Akinwale J, Mitcheson D, Solyakov L, Dudek K, Jones C, Zapatero C, Doerig C, Nwakanma D.C, Vazquez M.J, Colmenarejo G, Lafuente-Monasterio M.J, Leon M.L, Godoi P.H.C, Elkins J.M, Waters A.P, Jamieson A.G, Alvaro E.F, Ranford-Cartwright L.C, Marti M, Winzeler E.A, Gamo F.J, Tobin A.B. Validation of the protein kinase PfCLK3 as a multistage cross-species malarial drug target. Science. 2019;365(6456):eaau1682. DOI: 10.1126/science.aau1682

Bui H.T.N, Niederwieser I, Bird M.J, Dai W, Brancucci N.M.B, Moes S, Jenoe P, Lucet I.S, Doerig C, Voss T.S. Mapping and functional analysis of heterochromatin protein 1 phosphorylation in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Sci Rep. 2019;9:16720. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53325-9

De Niz M, Meehan G.R, Brancucci N.M.B, Marti M, Rotureau B, Figueiredo L.M, Frischknecht F. Intravital imaging of host-parasite interactions in skin and adipose tissues. Cell Microbiol. 2019;21(5):e13023. DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13023

Brancucci N.M.B, De Niz M, Straub T.J, Ravel D, Sollelis L, Birren B.W, Voss T.S, Neafsey D.E, Marti M. Probing Plasmodium falciparum sexual commitment at the single-cell level. Wellcome Open Res. 2018;3:70. DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.14645.3

De Niz M, Meibalan E, Mejia P, Ma S, Brancucci N.M.B, Agop-Nersesian C, Mandt R, Ngotho P, Hughes K.R, Waters A.P, Huttenhower C, Mitchell J.R, Martinelli R, Frischknecht F, Seydel K.B, Taylor T, Milner D, Heussler V.T, Marti M. Plasmodium gametocytes display homing and vascular transmigration in the host bone marrow. Sci Adv. 2018;4(5):eaat3775. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat3775

Filarsky M, Fraschka S.A, Niederwieser I, Brancucci N.M.B, Carrington E, Carrió E, Moes S, Jenoe P, Bartfai R, Voss T.S. GDV1 induces sexual commitment of malaria parasites by antagonizing HP1-dependent gene silencing. Science. 2018;359(6381):1259-1263. DOI: 10.1126/science.aan6042

Fraschka S.A, Filarsky M, Hoo R, Niederwieser I, Yan Yam X, Brancucci N.M.B, Mohring F, Mushunje A.T, Huang X, Christensen P.R, Nosten F, Bozdech Z, Russell B, Moon R.W, Marti M, Preiser P.R, Bártfai R, Voss T.S. Comparative heterochromatin profiling reveals conserved and unique epigenome signatures linked to adaptation and development of malaria parasites. Cell Host Microbe. 2018;23(3):407-420 e8. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2018.01.008

Ross A, Brancucci N.M. On a mission to block transmission. eLife. 2018;7:e35246. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.35246

Brancucci N.M.B, Gerdt J.P, Wang C, De Niz M, Philip N, Adapa S.R, Zhang M, Hitz E, Niederwieser I, Boltryk S.D, Laffitte M.C, Clark M.A, Gruring C, Ravel D, Blancke Soares A, Demas A, Bopp S, Rubio-Ruiz B, Conejo-Garcia A, Wirth D.F, Gendaszewska-Darmach E, Duraisingh M.T, Adams J.H, Voss T.S, Waters A.P, Jiang R.H.Y, Clardy J, Marti M. Lysophosphatidylcholine regulates sexual stage differentiation in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Cell. 2017;171(7):1532-1544 e15. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.10.020

Kato N, Comer E, Sakata-Kato T, Sharma A, Sharma M, Maetani M, Bastien J, Brancucci N.M, Bittker J.A, Corey V, Clarke D, Derbyshire E.R, Dornan G.L, Duffy S, Eckley S, Itoe M.A, Koolen K.M, Lewis T.A, Lui P.S, Lukens A.K, Lund E, March S, Meibalan E, Meier B.C, McPhail J.A, Mitasev B, Moss E.L, Sayes M, Van Gessel Y, Wawer M.J, Yoshinaga T, Zeeman A.M, Avery V.M, Bhatia S.N, Burke J.E, Catteruccia F, Clardy J.C, Clemons P.A, Dechering K.J, Duvall J.R, Foley M.A, Gusovsky F, Kocken C.H, Marti M, Morningstar M.L, Munoz B, Neafsey D.E, Sharma A, Winzeler E.A, Wirth D.F, Scherer C.A, Schreiber S.L. Diversity-oriented synthesis yields novel multistage antimalarial inhibitors. Nature. 2016;538(7625):344-349. DOI: 10.1038/nature19804

Mantel P.Y, Hjelmqvist D, Walch M, Kharoubi-Hess S, Nilsson S, Ravel D, Ribeiro M, Gruring C, Ma S, Padmanabhan P, Trachtenberg A, Ankarklev J, Brancucci N.M, Huttenhower C, Duraisingh M.T, Ghiran I, Kuo W.P, Filgueira L, Martinelli R, Marti M. Infected erythrocyte-derived extracellular vesicles alter vascular function via regulatory Ago2-miRNA complexes in malaria. Nat Commun. 2016;7:12727. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12727

Brancucci N.M, Goldowitz I, Buchholz K, Werling K, Marti M. An assay to probe Plasmodium falciparum growth, transmission stage formation and early gametocyte development. Nat Protoc. 2015;10(8):1131-42. DOI: 10.1038/nprot.2015.072

Dantzler K.W, Ravel D.B, Brancucci N.M, Marti M. Ensuring transmission through dynamic host environments: host-pathogen interactions in Plasmodium sexual development. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2015;26:17-23. DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2015.03.005

Pelle K.G, Oh K, Buchholz K, Narasimhan V, Joice R, Milner D.A, Brancucci N.M, Ma S, Voss T.S, Ketman K, Seydel K.B, Taylor T.E, Barteneva N.S, Huttenhower C, Marti M. Transcriptional profiling defines dynamics of parasite tissue sequestration during malaria infection. Genome Med. 2015;7:19. DOI: 10.1186/s13073-015-0133-7

Ankarklev J, Brancucci N.M, Goldowitz I, Mantel P.Y, Marti M. Sex: how malaria parasites get turned on. Curr Biol. 2014;24(9):R368-70. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.046

Brancucci N.M, Bertschi N.L, Zhu L, Niederwieser I, Chin W.H, Wampfler R, Freymond C, Rottmann M, Felger I, Bozdech Z, Voss T.S. Heterochromatin protein 1 secures survival and transmission of malaria parasites. Cell Host Microbe. 2014;16(2):165-176. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2014.07.004

Brancucci N.M, Witmer K, Schmid C, Voss T.S. A var gene upstream element controls protein synthesis at the level of translation initiation in Plasmodium falciparum. PLoS One. 2014;9(6):e100183. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100183

Brancucci N.M.B. Novel insights into the epigenetic regulation of Plasmodium falciparum virulence genes. Basel: Univ. Basel, 2013. Doctoral Thesis, University of Basel, Faculty of Science DOI: 10.5451/unibas-006218045

Brancucci N.M, Witmer K, Schmid C.D, Flueck C, Voss T.S. Identification of a cis-acting DNA-protein interaction implicated in singular var gene choice in Plasmodium falciparum. Cell Microbiol. 2012;14(12):1836-1848. DOI: 10.1111/cmi.12004

Oehring S.C, Woodcroft B.J, Moes S, Wetzel J, Dietz O, Pulfer A, Dekiwadia C, Mäser P, Flück C, Witmer K, Brancucci N.M, Niederwieser I, Jenoe P, Ralph S.A, Voss T.S. Organellar proteomics reveals hundreds of novel nuclear proteins in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Genome Biol. 2012;13(11):R108. DOI: 10.1186/gb-2012-13-11-r108

Witmer K, Schmid C.D, Brancucci N.M, Luah Y.H, Preiser P.R, Bozdech Z, Voss T.S. Analysis of subtelomeric virulence gene families in Plasmodium falciparum by comparative transcriptional profiling. Mol Microbiol. 2012;84(2):243-259. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2012.08019.x