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Functional and biophysical analyses of the class XIV Toxoplasma gondii Myosin D

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Summary

The obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii uses gliding motility to migrate across the biological barriers of the host and to invade cells. This unique form of locomotion requires an intact actin cytoskeleton and involves at least one motor protein (TgMyoA) that belongs to the class XIV of the myosin superfamily. TgMyoA is anchored in the inner membrane complex and is essential for the gliding motion, host cell invasion and egress of T. gondii tachyzoites. TgMyoD is the smallest T. gondii myosin and is structurally very closely related to TgMyoA. We show here that TgMyoD exhibits similar transient kinetic properties as the fast single-headed TgMyoA. To determine if TgMyoD also contributes to parasite gliding motility, the TgMyoD gene was disrupted by double homologous recombination. In contrast to TgMyoA, TgMyoD gene is dispensable for tachyzoite propagation and motility. Parasites lacking TgMyoD glide normally and their virulence is not compromised in mice. The fact that TgMyoD is predominantly expressed in bradyzoites explains the absence of a phenotype observed with myodko in tachyzoites and does not exclude a role of this motor in gliding that would be restricted to the cyst forming but nevertheless motile stage of the parasite.

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Abbreviations

BDM:

butanedione monoxime

mant ATP:

N-methylanthraniloyl derivatives of 2′deoxy-ATP

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Author notes

  1. MIKLOS NYITRAI

    Present address: Department of Biophysics, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

  2. DOMINIQUE SOLDATI

    Present address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva CMU, 1 Rue Michel-Servet, 1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hygieneinstitut, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    ANGELIKA HERM-GÖTZ & FRÊDÊRIC DELBAC

  2. Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    ANGELIKA HERM-GÖTZ, ROLF STRATMANN & DOMINIQUE SOLDATI

  3. Laboratoire Biologie des Protistes, UMR CNRS 6023, Université Blaise Pascal, 24 av. des Landais, 63177, Aubière cedex, France

    FRÊDÊRIC DELBAC

  4. Department of Biosciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NJ, Canterbury, UK

    STEFAN WEISS, MIKLOS NYITRAI & MICHAEL A. GEEVES

  5. Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique CNRS UMR 8576, Bâtiment C9 Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France

    STANISLAS TOMAVO

  6. Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    L. DAVID SIBLEY

  7. Heidelberger Institut für Pflanzenwissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 360, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    ROLF STRATMANN

Authors
  1. ANGELIKA HERM-GÖTZ
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  2. FRÊDÊRIC DELBAC
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  3. STEFAN WEISS
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  4. MIKLOS NYITRAI
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  5. ROLF STRATMANN
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  6. STANISLAS TOMAVO
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  7. L. DAVID SIBLEY
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  8. MICHAEL A. GEEVES
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  9. DOMINIQUE SOLDATI
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Correspondence to DOMINIQUE SOLDATI.

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Both authors contributed equally to the work.

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HERM-GÖTZ, A., DELBAC, F., WEISS, S. et al. Functional and biophysical analyses of the class XIV Toxoplasma gondii Myosin D. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 27, 139–151 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-005-9046-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-005-9046-1

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