ArticleBMC molecular and cell biology2020
A doublecortin-domain protein of Toxoplasma and its orthologues bind to and modify the structure and organization of tubulin polymers.
Article in BMC molecular and cell biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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21 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Apicortin defines theLife science alliance · 2026Article
- Transfection of the free-living alga Chromera velia enables direct comparisons with its parasitic apicomplexan relative, Toxoplasma gondii.Journal of cell science · 2026Article
- Atomic models of the Toxoplasma cell invasion machinery.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026Article
- Transfection of the free-living algabioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Apicortin, a Putative Apicomplexan-Specific Protein, Is Present in Deep-Branching Opisthokonts.Biology · 2025Article
- The initiation and early development of the tubulin-containing cytoskeleton in the human parasiteMolecular biology of the cell · 2024Article
- Sustained rhoptry docking and discharge requires Toxoplasma gondii intraconoidal microtubule-associated proteins.Nature communications · 2024Article
- iU-ExM: nanoscopy of organelles and tissues with iterative ultrastructure expansion microscopy.Nature communications · 2023Article
- p25alpha Domain-Containing Proteins of Apicomplexans and Related Taxa.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Cryo-tomography reveals rigid-body motion and organization of apicomplexan invasion machinery.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Article
- Development of a novel electroporation method for the oyster parasite Perkinsus marinus.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- On the TPPP Protein of the Enigmatic Fungus,International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- An apical protein, Pcr2, is required for persistent movement by the human parasite Toxoplasma gondii.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- Cryo-ET ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Apicortin, a Constituent of Apicomplexan Conoid/Apical Complex and Its Tentative Role in Pathogen-Host Interaction.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2021Review
- Truncated TPPP - An Endopterygota-specific protein.Heliyon · 2021Article
- Imaging MicrotubulesBio-protocol · 2021Article
- Molecular characterization of the conoid complex in Toxoplasma reveals its conservation in all apicomplexans, including Plasmodium species.PLoS biology · 2021Article
- Pseudo-repeats in doublecortin make distinct mechanistic contributions to microtubule regulation.EMBO reports · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTgDCX is a doublecortin-domain protein associated with the conoid fibers, a set of strongly curved non-tubular tubulin-polymers in Toxoplasma. TgDCX deletion impairs conoid structure and parasite invasion. TgDCX contains two tubulin-binding domains: a partial P25α and the DCX/doublecortin domain. Orthologues are found in apicomplexans and their free-living relatives Chromera and Vitrella.
resultsWe report that isolated TgDCX-containing conoid fibers retain their pronounced curvature, but loss of TgDCX destabilizes the fibers. We crystallized and determined the 3D-structure of the DCX-domain, which is similar to those of human doublecortin and well-conserved among TgDCX orthologues. However, the orthologues vary widely in targeting to the conoid in Toxoplasma and in modulating microtubule organization in Xenopus cells. Several orthologues bind to microtubules in Xenopus cells, but only TgDCX generates short, strongly curved microtubule arcs. EM analysis shows microtubules decorated with TgDCX bundled into rafts, often bordered on one edge by a "C"-shaped incomplete tube. A Chromera orthologue closely mimics TgDCX targeting in Toxoplasma and binds to microtubules in Xenopus cells, but does not generate arcs or "C"-shaped tubes, and fails to rescue the defects of the TgDCX-knockout parasite.
conclusionsThese observations suggest that species-specific features of TgDCX enable it to generate strongly curved tubulin-polymers to support efficient host-cell invasion.
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