ArticleBMC biology2017
Surface attachment, promoted by the actomyosin system of Toxoplasma gondii is important for efficient gliding motility and invasion.
Article in BMC biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.
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41 citing papers in PubMed, 182 citations in OpenAlex.
- HarnessingAnnals of medicine · 2026Review
- Highly divergent apicomplexan cytoskeletons provide additional models for actin biology.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- Plasma membrane recycling drives reservoir formation during Toxoplasma gondii intracellular replication.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- Motility-dependent processes inmSphere · 2025Article
- Motility-dependent processes inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Toxoplasma gondii actin filaments are tuned for rapid disassembly and turnover.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Propulsive cell entry diverts pathogens from immune degradation by remodeling the phagocytic synapse.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Article
- Function and regulation of a steroidogenic CYP450 enzyme in the mitochondrion of Toxoplasma gondii.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- MyosinA is a druggable target in the widespread protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii.PLoS biology · 2023Article
- Propulsive cell entry diverts pathogens from immune degradation by remodeling the phagocytic synapse.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Extensible membrane nanotubules mediate attachment of Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes under flow.PloS one · 2023Article
- Refractile bodies ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- A circular zone of attachment to the extracellular matrix provides directionality to the motility ofeLife · 2022Article
- Marine gregarine genomes reveal the breadth of apicomplexan diversity with a partially conserved glideosome machinery.BMC genomics · 2022Article
- The pathogenicity and virulence ofVirulence · 2021Article
- Phosphoproteomic Comparison of FourInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Review
- Article
- Actin and an unconventional myosin motor, TgMyoF, control the organization and dynamics of the endomembrane network in Toxoplasma gondii.PLoS pathogens · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundApicomplexan parasites employ a unique form of movement, termed gliding motility, in order to invade the host cell. This movement depends on the parasite's actomyosin system, which is thought to generate the force during gliding. However, recent evidence questions the exact molecular role of this system, since mutants for core components of the gliding machinery, such as parasite actin or subunits of the MyoA-motor complex (the glideosome), remain motile and invasive, albeit at significantly reduced efficiencies. While compensatory mechanisms and unusual polymerisation kinetics of parasite actin have been evoked to explain these findings, the actomyosin system could also play a role distinct from force production during parasite movement.
resultsIn this study, we compared the phenotypes of different mutants for core components of the actomyosin system in Toxoplasma gondii to decipher their exact role during gliding motility and invasion. We found that, while some phenotypes (apicoplast segregation, host cell egress, dense granule motility) appeared early after induction of the act1 knockout and went to completion, a small percentage of the parasites remained capable of motility and invasion well past the point at which actin levels were undetectable. Those act1 conditional knockout (cKO) and mlc1 cKO that continue to move in 3D do so at speeds similar to wildtype parasites. However, these mutants are virtually unable to attach to a collagen-coated substrate under flow conditions, indicating an important role for the actomyosin system of T. gondii in the formation of attachment sites.
conclusionWe demonstrate that parasite actin is essential during the lytic cycle and cannot be compensated by other molecules. Our data suggest a conventional polymerisation mechanism in vivo that depends on a critical concentration of G-actin. Importantly, we demonstrate that the actomyosin system of the parasite functions in attachment to the surface substrate, and not necessarily as force generator.
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