TRAP-like protein of Plasmodium sporozoites: linking gliding motility to host-cell traversal

To reach its final destination in the liver, the sporozoite (the stage of the malaria parasite that is transmitted by the mosquito vector) needs to glide through tissues and traverse host cells. Although the molecular bases of these behaviors are typically considered separately, two recent reports suggest the first molecular link between the two via a novel protein called ‘TRAP-like protein’.