ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2011
An actin cytoskeleton with evolutionarily conserved functions in the absence of canonical actin-binding proteins.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 99 citations in OpenAlex.
- GlRac regulates an ATG8-independent autophagy-like pathway in Giardia lamblia.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- In Vitro Antigiardial Activity and In Silico Target Exploration of Quassinoids Isolated fromInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Breaking the annotation barrier: An initial subcellular localization atlas ofMolecular biology of the cell · 2026Article
- The cytoskeleton of pathogenic protists.Bioscience reports · 2026Review
- Highly divergent apicomplexan cytoskeletons provide additional models for actin biology.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- Please inhibit responsibly: Natural and synthetic actin toxins as useful tools in cell biology.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Review
- Structure and Functions of Actin and Actin-Binding Proteins inPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Article
- Reorganization of the flagellum scaffolding induces a sperm standstill during fertilization.eLife · 2024Article
- Actin network evolution as a key driver of eukaryotic diversification.Journal of cell science · 2024Review
- Novel Insights into the Wattle and Daub Model ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Unusual Cell Structures and Organelles inMicroorganisms · 2022Review
- Structural basis of rapid actin dynamics in the evolutionarily divergent Leishmania parasite.Nature communications · 2022Article
- The Giardia ventrolateral flange is a lamellar membrane protrusion that supports attachment.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Disc and Actin Associated Protein 1 influences attachment in the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Identification of Actin Filament-Associated Proteins in Giardia lamblia.Microbiology spectrum · 2021Article
- Review
- Giardia intestinalis coiled-coil cytolinker protein 259 interacts with actin and tubulin.Parasitology research · 2021Article
- Staging Encystation Progression inFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Article
- Conserved actin machinery drives microtubule-independent motility and phagocytosis in Naegleria.The Journal of cell biology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Giardia intestinalis, a human intestinal parasite and member of what is perhaps the earliest-diverging eukaryotic lineage, contains the most divergent eukaryotic actin identified to date and is the first eukaryote known to lack all canonical actin-binding proteins (ABPs). We sought to investigate the properties and functions of the actin cytoskeleton in Giardia to determine whether Giardia actin (giActin) has reduced or conserved roles in core cellular processes. In vitro polymerization of giActin produced filaments, indicating that this divergent actin is a true filament-forming actin. We generated an anti-giActin antibody to localize giActin throughout the cell cycle. GiActin localized to the cortex, nuclei, internal axonemes, and formed C-shaped filaments along the anterior of the cell and a flagella-bundling helix. These structures were regulated with the cell cycle and in encysting cells giActin was recruited to the Golgi-like cyst wall processing vesicles. Knockdown of giActin demonstrated that giActin functions in cell morphogenesis, membrane trafficking, and cytokinesis. Additionally, Giardia contains a single G protein, giRac, which affects the Giardia actin cytoskeleton independently of known target ABPs. These results imply that there exist ancestral and perhaps conserved roles for actin in core cellular processes that are independent of canonical ABPs. Of medical significance, the divergent giActin cytoskeleton is essential and commonly used actin-disrupting drugs do not depolymerize giActin structures. Therefore, the giActin cytoskeleton is a promising drug target for treating giardiasis, as we predict drugs that interfere with the Giardia actin cytoskeleton will not affect the mammalian host.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.