ArticlePLoS pathogens2011
Evolutionarily divergent, unstable filamentous actin is essential for gliding motility in apicomplexan parasites.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers.
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Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 112 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cellular and molecular basis of PfCoronin function in artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Study of Unconventional Cytoskeleton Components Regulating Actin Contraction.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Evolutionarily convergent mechanism of formin regulation coordinates actin polymerization in apicomplexan parasites.Science advances · 2025Article
- Highly divergent apicomplexan cytoskeletons provide additional models for actin biology.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- Plasmodium actin-like proteins are essential for DNA segregation during male gametogenesis and malaria transmission.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- RNAi-directed knockdown in the cnidarian fish blood parasite Sphaerospora molnari.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Review
- Plasmodium falciparum formins are essential for invasion and sexual stage development.Communications biology · 2023Article
- Prenyl Transferases Regulate Secretory Protein Sorting and Parasite Morphology inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Structure and function of Plasmodium actin II in the parasite mosquito stages.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Refractile bodies ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Divergent Plasmodium actin residues are essential for filament localization, mosquito salivary gland invasion and malaria transmission.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Marine gregarine genomes reveal the breadth of apicomplexan diversity with a partially conserved glideosome machinery.BMC genomics · 2022Article
- Structural basis of rapid actin dynamics in the evolutionarily divergent Leishmania parasite.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Structure and function of an atypical homodimeric actin capping protein from the malaria parasite.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2022Article
- Actin and an unconventional myosin motor, TgMyoF, control the organization and dynamics of the endomembrane network in Toxoplasma gondii.PLoS pathogens · 2021Article
- Cryptosporidium parvum Elongation Factor 1α Participates in the Formation of Base Structure at the Infection Site During Invasion.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2020Article
- The elusive actin cytoskeleton of a green alga expressing both conventional and divergent actins.Molecular biology of the cell · 2019Article
- Unusual dynamics of the divergent malaria parasiteProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Differential requirements for cyclase-associated protein (CAP) in actin-dependent processes ofeLife · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Apicomplexan parasites rely on a novel form of actin-based motility called gliding, which depends on parasite actin polymerization, to migrate through their hosts and invade cells. However, parasite actins are divergent both in sequence and function and only form short, unstable filaments in contrast to the stability of conventional actin filaments. The molecular basis for parasite actin filament instability and its relationship to gliding motility remain unresolved. We demonstrate that recombinant Toxoplasma (TgACTI) and Plasmodium (PfACTI and PfACTII) actins polymerized into very short filaments in vitro but were induced to form long, stable filaments by addition of equimolar levels of phalloidin. Parasite actins contain a conserved phalloidin-binding site as determined by molecular modeling and computational docking, yet vary in several residues that are predicted to impact filament stability. In particular, two residues were identified that form intermolecular contacts between different protomers in conventional actin filaments and these residues showed non-conservative differences in apicomplexan parasites. Substitution of divergent residues found in TgACTI with those from mammalian actin resulted in formation of longer, more stable filaments in vitro. Expression of these stabilized actins in T. gondii increased sensitivity to the actin-stabilizing compound jasplakinolide and disrupted normal gliding motility in the absence of treatment. These results identify the molecular basis for short, dynamic filaments in apicomplexan parasites and demonstrate that inherent instability of parasite actin filaments is a critical adaptation for gliding motility.
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