MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Alveolar proteins stabilize cortical microtubules in Toxoplasma gondii

Author(s)
Gow, Matthew; Meissner, Markus; Harding, Clare R.; Kang, Joon Ho; Shortt, Emily; Manalis, Scott R; Lourido, Sebastian; ... Show more Show less
Thumbnail
Downloads41467-019-08318-7.pdf (6.788Mb)
PUBLISHER_CC

Publisher with Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution

Terms of use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Single-celled protists use elaborate cytoskeletal structures, including arrays of microtubules at the cell periphery, to maintain polarity and rigidity. The obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii has unusually stable cortical microtubules beneath the alveoli, a network of flattened membrane vesicles that subtends the plasmalemma. However, anchoring of microtubules along alveolar membranes is not understood. Here, we show that GAPM1a, an integral membrane protein of the alveoli, plays a role in maintaining microtubule stability. Degradation of GAPM1a causes cortical microtubule disorganisation and subsequent depolymerisation. These changes in the cytoskeleton lead to parasites becoming shorter and rounder, which is accompanied by a decrease in cellular volume. Extended GAPM1a depletion leads to severe defects in division, reminiscent of the effect of disrupting other alveolar proteins. We suggest that GAPM proteins link the cortical microtubules to the alveoli and are required to maintain the shape and rigidity of apicomplexan zoites.
Date issued
2019-01
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/121040
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics; Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Journal
Nature Communications
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Harding, Clare R., Matthew Gow, Joon Ho Kang, Emily Shortt, Scott R. Manalis, Markus Meissner, and Sebastian Lourido. “Alveolar Proteins Stabilize Cortical Microtubules in Toxoplasma Gondii.” Nature Communications 10, no. 1 (January 23, 2019).
Version: Final published version
ISSN
2041-1723

Collections
  • MIT Open Access Articles

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logo

Find us on

Twitter Instagram YouTube

MIT Libraries navigation

SearchHours & locationsBorrow & requestResearch supportAbout us
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibility
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.