Serpentine receptors (SRs) are transmembrane proteins generally acting as mediators to facilitate the communication between a cell and its environment. At least six putative SR-like proteins are encoded in the genome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. For two of them, roles in cell stress control were reported; however, for most of the SR-like proteins the functions are not yet known. In this study, we provide a first phenotypic analysis of the plasmodial SR10. The transmembrane protein is expressed in the asexual and sexual blood stages of P. falciparum. Co-localization and co-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated an association of SR10 with the endoplasmic reticulum protein ERC. Gene disruption of SR10 leads to impaired intraerythrocytic replication and strongly reduces gametocyte numbers. We thus propose that SR10 is a protein associated with the endoplasmic reticulum that has important functions for asexual and sexual blood stage development.

蛇纹石受体（SRs）是跨膜蛋白，通常充当介质，促进细胞与其环境之间的通讯。疟原虫恶性疟原虫的基因组中至少编码了六个推定的SR样蛋白。其中有两个报告了在细胞应激控制中的作用。然而，对于大多数SR样蛋白，其功能尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们提供了疟原虫SR10的第一个表型分析。跨膜蛋白在恶性疟原虫的无性和有性血液阶段表达。共同定位和共同免疫沉淀测定法证明了SR10与内质网蛋白ERC的关联。SR10的基因破坏导致红细胞内复制受损，并大大减少了配子细胞的数量。因此，我们提出SR10是与内质网相关的蛋白质，对无性和有性血液阶段发育具有重要功能。