Dr Thomas Hollin

Title: RNA-binding Proteins and Organellar Gene Regulation in Plasmodium falciparum

Abstract:

In response to different environmental conditions, P. falciparum acquired elaborate and complementary layers of mechanisms controlling gene expression to ensure its survival, spread and transmission. Two organelles of endosymbiotic origin are hosted by the parasite, the mitochondrion and the apicoplast, which retain their own genome. Despite that they are considered attractive targets for drug development and exhibit atypical genomic features, our understanding of post-transcriptional regulation, including RNA processing, remains an important knowledge gap.

I will present how RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are crucial for parasite gene regulation with a particular interest on a specific RBP family called RAP (RNA-binding domain abundant in Apicomplexans) and how these proteins play an important role in the regulation of mitochondrial and apicoplast gene expression in the atypical context of apicomplexan parasites.

Bio:

Thomas completed his PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Lille, France in 2017, where he characterized a parasite-specific regulator of the Protein Phosphatase type 1 in Plasmodium falciparum. Afterwards, he moved to the University of California, Riverside, USA to pursue a 6-year post-doctoral fellowship in Karine Le Roch team. He studied a specific family of RNA-binding proteins and their role in mitochondrial and apicoplast gene regulation in P. falciparum. In 2025, Thomas returned to France to establish his own lab at the LPHI in Montpellier, where he works on post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in P. falciparum.

First published: 4 September 2025

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