ArticleNature communications2021
Cryo-EM structure of cortical microtubules from human parasite Toxoplasma gondii identifies their microtubule inner proteins.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 47 papers.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed.
- SPACA9 and MNMIP1 bridge the seam of spermatid manchette microtubules.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- The apical polar ring is essential during the blood stage of Plasmodium falciparum.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- The human parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, is paralyzed without two components of the apical polar ring.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- TgJosephin and TgRad23 are important for anti-IFN-γ virulence via deubiquitination of SPM1 inmSphere · 2026Article
- The cytoskeleton of pathogenic protists.Bioscience reports · 2026Review
- Loss-of-function variants in SAXO6, encoding a microtubule inner protein of photoreceptor cilia, cause a late-onset retinal dystrophy.American journal of human genetics · 2026Article
- Adaptations in Plasmodium tubulin determine distinct microtubule architectures, mechanics and drug susceptibility.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Structure first - exploration and discovery with cryo-electron microscopy.Journal of cell science · 2026Review
- Microtubule inner proteins in apicomplexan parasites.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026Review
- The essential function of the apical polar ring during the blood stage ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- High-resolution cryo-EM meets parasitology in structural models of the conoid from Toxoplasma.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026Article
- Atomic models of the Toxoplasma cell invasion machinery.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2026Article
- mSphere of Influence: From pixels to parasite insight-cryo-EM is rewiring apicomplexan cell biology.mSphere · 2025Article
- Function and interactions of a protein bridge between the inner membrane complex and subpellicular microtubules inMolecular biology of the cell · 2025Article
- Microtubules in Martini: Parameterizing a heterogeneous elastic-network towards a mechanically accurate microtubule.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
- Microtubule inner proteins ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Cryo-ET suggests tubulin chaperones form a subset of microtubule lumenal particles with a role in maintaining neuronal microtubules.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Luminal acetylation of microtubules is not essential forMicrobial cell (Graz, Austria) · 2025Article
- Review
- A subpellicular microtubule dynein transport machinery regulates ookinete morphogenesis for mosquito transmission of Plasmodium yoelii.Nature communications · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In living cells, microtubules (MTs) play pleiotropic roles, which require very different mechanical properties. Unlike the dynamic MTs found in the cytoplasm of metazoan cells, the specialized cortical MTs from Toxoplasma gondii, a prevalent human pathogen, are extraordinarily stable and resistant to detergent and cold treatments. Using single-particle cryo-EM, we determine their ex vivo structure and identify three proteins (TrxL1, TrxL2 and SPM1) as bona fide microtubule inner proteins (MIPs). These three MIPs form a mesh on the luminal surface and simultaneously stabilize the tubulin lattice in both longitudinal and lateral directions. Consistent with previous observations, deletion of the identified MIPs compromises MT stability and integrity under challenges by chemical treatments. We also visualize a small molecule like density at the Taxol-binding site of β-tubulin. Our results provide the structural basis to understand the stability of cortical MTs and suggest an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of MT stabilization from the inside.
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