The prototype Miecznik frigate has hit the water in Gdynia following a multi-day operation using SPMTs and a semi-submersible barge. Full feature breakdown on construction, launch tech, and combat sys...

#Mammoet has moved a 1,700 tonne #Baltica2 monopile using fully electric SPMTs in Denmark, showing how #VanOord, #Ørsted and #PGE could cut diesel consumption and emissions during offshore wind foundation marshalling operations at ports.

Mammoet completed the second #AmsterdamCentraal bridge replacement, moving 275 tonne steel decks by barge to cut disruption. The #ProRail #PHS works use jacking, SPMTs and marine transport to support future rail capacity

Mammoet supported #TxDOT and #FlatironDragados in removing the 2,300 tonne #HarborBridge center span in #CorpusChristi, using strand jacks, SPMTs and marine transport to reduce work at height and protect channel access safely.

Mammoet supported #TxDOT and #FlatironDragados in removing the 2,300 tonne #HarborBridge center span in #CorpusChristi, using strand jacks, SPMTs and marine transport to reduce work at height and protect channel access safely.

Mammoet assisted Global Energy Group with transshipping transition pieces (TPs) for Moray West offshore wind farm on to Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) using a crawler cr...

HS2 has moved a 55 metre #SaltleyViaduct span into position using #SPMTs, advancing a complex #BalfourBeattyVINCI bridge programme across existing rail infrastructure, waterways and the future #HS2 route through Birmingham during planned railway closure works.

HS2 has moved a 55 metre #SaltleyViaduct span into position using #SPMTs, advancing a complex #BalfourBeattyVINCI bridge programme across existing rail infrastructure, waterways and the future #HS2 route through Birmingham during planned railway closure works.

YouTube video by Mammoet

Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, relies on specialised tubulin-based cytoskeletal structures to support its parasitic lifestyle. These include the conoid required for parasite motility and host-cell invasion, as well as subpellicular microtubules (SPMTs) that support parasite shape and rigidity. Here, we investigate the function of the doublecortin domain protein DCX, a microtubule-binding protein previously associated with the Plasmodium conoid. We first show that, in P. falciparum, DCX is not expressed in the merozoite stage and is not required for the invasion of human erythrocytes. By contrast, DCX is expressed in ookinetes, the motile stage responsible for infecting the mosquito vector, where it associates with conoid tubulin fibres, consistent with a role in stabilising the conoid architecture. Unexpectedly, we find that DCX is required for P. falciparum transmission to the mosquito independently of conoid function. We further link this requirement to the distinctive organisation of SPMTs in P. falciparum gametocytes, which display an unusual branching architecture comprising multiple microtubules of 15 to 18 protofilaments. Deletion of DCX leads to a reduction in SPMT branching and is associated with higher protofilament numbers, revealing a previously unrecognised role for DCX in shaping the ultrastructure of SPMTs in P. falciparum gametocytes. Altogether, our findings uncover the repurposing of DCX across distinct microtubule systems in transmission stages and identify DCX as a key factor mediating microtubule branching and stabilisation in SPMTs required for efficient mosquito transmission.