Non-genetic red blood cell variability can modulate hemoglobin consumption by intracellular Plasmodium falciparum.

Non-genetic variation in red blood cell hemoglobin content modulates nutrient consumption by Plasmodium falciparum, with infected cells amplifying this variability to over 100%.

• Why it matters: Understanding how host cell heterogeneity influences parasite behavior is crucial because it can affect infection outcomes and treatment efficacy, yet this aspect remains poorly understood.
• What they did: Researchers used label-free quantitative-phase imaging to measure hemoglobin in thousands of uninfected and infected RBCs over 48 hours and developed a predator-prey model to explain the observed variability.
• The result: Host cell variability alone can generate much of the diversity in parasite hemoglobin consumption, suggesting that host phenotypic noise influences intracellular parasite dynamics and could inform better therapeutic strategies.