Sub-cellular localization of PfPRS. Confocal microscopy of Plasmodium falciparum localization in asexual parasite stages—rings, trophozoites and schizonts using anti-sera raised against PfPRS254-746. Pf D-tyrosyltRNA Tyr deacylase (PfDTD) was used as a marker for parasite cytosol. Parasite nucleus was stained with DAPI (blue) while PfPRS and PfDTD were stained with Alexa Fluor 594 (red) and Alexa Fluor 488 (green) respectively. Scale bar in white corresponds to 5 mm size. Pre-immune serum was used as negative control in these experiments. PfPRS seemed to be present only in the parasite cytoplasm within ring, trophozoite and schizont stages .This suggests that PfPRS contributes to production of prolyladenylate in parasite cytoplasm, and is distinct from the apicoplastic (PfPRSapi). PfPRS seems confined to parasite cytoplasm in asexual blood stages of the parasite, and is not secreted like Plasmodium falciparum tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (PfYRS).

Jain V, Kikuchi H, Oshima Y, Sharma A, Yogavel M. Structural and functional analysis of the anti-malarial drug target prolyl-tRNA synthetase. J Struct Funct Genomics. 2014 15(4):181-90.