Four-dimensional characterization of the Babesia divergens asexual life cycle: from the trophozoite to the multiparasite stage

Abstract

Babesia is an apicomplexan parasite of significance that causes the disease known as babesiosis in domestic and wild animals and in humans worldwide. Babesia infects vertebrate hosts and reproduces asexually by a form of binary fission within erythrocytes/red blood cells (RBCs), yielding a complex pleomorphic population of intraerythrocytic parasites. Seven of them, clearly visible in human RBCs infected with Babesia divergens, are considered the main forms and named single, double and quadruple trophozoites, paired and double paired-pyriforms, tetrad or Maltese Cross, and multiparasite stage. However, these main intraerythrocytic forms coexist with RBCs infected with transient parasite combinations of unclear origin and development. In fact, little is understood about how Babesia builds this complex population during its asexual life cycle. By combining the emerging technique cryo soft X-ray tomography and video microscopy, main and transitory parasites were characterized in a native whole cellular context and at nanometric resolution. As a result, the architecture and kinetic of the parasite population has been elucidated. Importantly, the process of multiplication by binary fission, involving budding, was visualized in live parasites for the first time, revealing that fundamental changes in cell shape and continuous rounds of multiplication occur as the parasites go through their asexual multiplication cycle. Based on these observations, a four-dimensional (4D) asexual life cycle model has been designed highlighting the origin of the tetrad, double paired-pyriform and multiparasite stages and the transient morphological forms that, surprisingly, intersperse in a chronological order between one main stage and the next along the cycle. IMPORTANCEBabesiosis is a disease caused by intraerythrocytic Babesia parasites, which possess many clinical features that are similar to those of malaria. This worldwide disease, is increasing in frequency and geographical range, and has a significant impact on human and animal health. Babesia divergens is one of the species responsible for human and cattle babesiosis causing death unless treated promptly. When B. divergens infects its vertebrate hosts it reproduces asexually within red blood cells. During its asexual life cycle, B. divergens builds a population of numerous intraerythrocytic (IE) parasites of difficult interpretation. This complex population is largely unexplored, and we have therefore combined three and four dimensional (3D and 4D) imaging techniques to elucidate the origin, architecture, and kinetic of IE parasites. Unveil the nature of these parasites have provided a vision of the B. divergens asexual cycle in unprecedented detail and a key step to develop control strategies against babesiosis