School of Infection & Immunity

Professor Ross Waller

Zoom link:https://uofglasgow.zoom.us/j/86039593934?pwd=ybTr69UHwkYsxRDLDo0z6t6ZWSrFdS.1 

Passcode:754802

Title: Plasmodium versus Perkinsus: parasie evolutionary cell biology at the extremes

Synopsis: 

The malarial parasite genus Plasmodium belongs to a wider assemblage of protists called the Myzozoa which is broadly comprised of apicomplexan parasites and dinoflagellate algae. Parasitism, however, has evolved multiple times independently in both lineages pointing to ‘preadaptations’ in the myzozoan common ancestor that have promoted the successful exploitation of this lifestyle. Perkinsus species represent successful marine parasites within the dinoflagellate radiation and offer the chance to determine what cell processes and features were likely present in the common myzozoan ancestor and how these manifest in the different instances of parasitism today. While Perkinsus species show uncanny similarity of cell features to those seen in Apicomplexa, the cell biology of Perkinsus cells have received little detailed examination to date. We are exploiting systems biology approaches to protists throughout Myzozoa and have resolved cell protein atlases for representatives of both Perkinsus and Plasmodium. These data are revealing unexpected evolutionary trajectories in both, providing insight into the evolutionary paths to parasitism and some of the extremes of organelle evolution. 

Bio:

Ross Waller completed a PhD in 2000 at the University of Melbourne working on the newly discovered remnant plastid endosymbiont in apicomplexan parasites Plasmodium and Toxoplasma. He undertook postdoctoral training from 2000-3 in Melbourne working on another human pathogen, Leishmania, and then from 2003-5 in Vancouver, Canada, working on cellular and molecular evolution in diverse eukaryotes. In 2005 he joined the faculty of the School of Botany, University of Melbourne, and in 2013 relocated his laboratory to the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge. His laboratory’s research continues to focus on how microbial organisms form symbioses with animals and other organisms, either as pathogens causing disease, or as beneficial partners necessary for healthy ecosystems and environments.

 

First published: 10 February 2026

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