Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The body plan of the human parasite Toxoplasma gondii has a well-defined polarity. The minus ends of the 22 cortical microtubules are anchored to the apical polar ring, which is a putative microtubule-organizing center. The basal complex caps and constricts the parasite posterior end and is crucial for cytokinesis. How this apical-basal polarity is initiated is unknown. Here, we have examined the development of the apical polar ring and the basal complex using expansion microscopy. We found that substructures in the apical polar ring have different sensitivities to perturbations. In addition, apical-basal differentiation is already established upon nucleation of the cortical microtubule array: arc forms of the apical polar ring and basal complex associate with opposite ends of the microtubules. As the nascent daughter framework grows towards the centrioles, the apical and basal arcs co-develop ahead of the microtubule array. Finally, two apical polar ring components, APR2 and KinesinA, act synergistically. The removal of individual proteins has a modest impact on the lytic cycle. However, the loss of both proteins results in abnormalities in the microtubule array and in highly reduced plaquing and invasion efficiency.
Source: Journal of Cell Science
DOI: 10.1242/jcs.263436
Authors: Luisa F. Arias Padilla, Jonathan Munera Lopez, Aika Shibata, John M. Murray, Ke Hu
Institution: Arizona State University
Language: English
Subfield: Parasitology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4402315296