An FKBP destabilization domain modulates protein levels in Plasmodium falciparum

To enhance the repertoire of molecular tools for studying malaria parasite biology, we have adapted a ligand-regulatable FKBP destabilization domain for use in P. falciparum. The reporter protein YFP and the Plasmodium protease falcipain-2 were destabilized in a ligand-reversible manner by fusion of FKBP at either end. The swollen food vacuole phenotype of falcipain-2 knockout parasites could be rescued in a Shld1 ligand-dependent fashion by falcipain-2-FKBP expression.