Ribosomal Architecture and rRNA Modification Landscape in the Tick-Borne Parasite Babesia divergens

2025 · doi:10.1101/2025.11.11.687446
preprint OA: closed
📄 Open PDF Full text JSON View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-07, 2026-07-17 ⓘ

Cryo-EM structures of <i>Babesia divergens</i> ribosomes reveal associated tRNAs, mRNA, and RACK1, alongside novel rRNA modifications mapped by nanopore sequencing.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-07, 2026-07-17 · read from full text ⓘ

This paper studied the ribosomal architecture and rRNA modification landscape of the tick-borne apicomplexan parasite Babesia divergens to inform understanding of translation control and potential drug targets. Using cryo-EM at 2.6 Ã… with associated tRNAs, an mRNA fragment, and the translation-regulatory scaffold RACK1, the authors achieved atomic-resolution analysis of ribosome regions (1.7 Ã…) and combined density map analysis with nanopore sequencing to identify rRNA modifications, including those not previously reported in other organisms. The identified modifications were found not only in Babesia rRNA expansion segments but also at functionally essential ribosomal sites, with the authors noting therapeutic intervention as an avenue. The study focuses specifically on structural snapshots and the identification/localization of rRNA modifications rather than directly testing drug efficacy. The paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

Read from the paper's body, not the abstract. Not a substitute for reading the paper. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Summary Babesia is a tick-borne intracellular apicomplexan parasite responsible for diseases ranging from mild to fatal, with a broadening geographic distribution. Due to the complex life cycle of Babesia species, their survival depends on the precise control of gene expression, which is primarily regulated by epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional mechanisms. High-resolution structural information on key components of the translation machinery, such as ribosomes, could aid in the development of antiparasitic drugs. Here, we report cryo-EM ribosome structures (2.6 Ã…) from the tick-borne apicomplexan pathogen Babesia divergens , showing associated tRNAs, an mRNA fragment, and RACK1, a signaling scaffold crucial to translation regulation. Density map analysis displays ribosome regions at atomic resolution (1.7 Ã…), which, when combined with nanopore sequencing, enabled the comprehensive identification of rRNA modifications, including modifications unreported in other organisms. The new rRNA modifications localize not only to the reduced Babesia rRNA expansion segments but also to functionally essential ribosomal sites, uncovering new avenues for therapeutic intervention against babesiosis.
Full text 1,297 characters · extracted from oa-doi-fallback · click to expand
Summary Babesia is a tick-borne intracellular apicomplexan parasite responsible for diseases ranging from mild to fatal, with a broadening geographic distribution. Due to the complex life cycle of Babesia species, their survival depends on the precise control of gene expression, which is primarily regulated by epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional mechanisms. High-resolution structural information on key components of the translation machinery, such as ribosomes, could aid in the development of antiparasitic drugs. Here, we report cryo-EM ribosome structures (2.6 Ã…) from the tick-borne apicomplexan pathogen Babesia divergens, showing associated tRNAs, an mRNA fragment, and RACK1, a signaling scaffold crucial to translation regulation. Density map analysis displays ribosome regions at atomic resolution (1.7 Ã…), which, when combined with nanopore sequencing, enabled the comprehensive identification of rRNA modifications, including modifications unreported in other organisms. The new rRNA modifications localize not only to the reduced Babesia rRNA expansion segments but also to functionally essential ribosomal sites, uncovering new avenues for therapeutic intervention against babesiosis. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below. Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy (via DOI) is the canonical version.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

⚙ Ask this paper AI returns verbatim quotes from the full text · source: oa-doi-fallback ⓘ

Answers must be backed by verbatim quotes from this paper's full text. Hallucinated quotes are dropped automatically; if no verbatim passage answers the question, we say so. How this works

Citation neighborhood (no data yet)

We don't have any in-corpus citations linked to this paper yet. This is a recent paper (2025) — citers typically take a year or two to land, and the OpenAlex reference graph may still be filling in.

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-05-20T01:45:00.602351+00:00