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The Actomyosin Systems in Apicomplexa.
Journal article

The Actomyosin Systems in Apicomplexa.

  • Frénal K Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité, UMR 5234, University of Bordeaux and CNRS, Bordeaux Cedex, France. karine.frenal@u-bordeaux.fr.
  • Krishnan A Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Soldati-Favre D Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • 2020-05-27
Published in:
  • Advances in experimental medicine and biology. - 2020
Actomyosin system
Basal pole constriction
Cell-cell communication
Invasion
Motility
Organelle inheritance
Plasmodium
Toxoplasma
Actins
Actomyosin
Animals
Plasmodium
Proteomics
Protozoan Proteins
Toxoplasma
English The phylum of Apicomplexa groups obligate intracellular parasites that exhibit unique classes of unconventional myosin motors. These parasites also encode a limited repertoire of actins, actin-like proteins, actin-binding proteins and nucleators of filamentous actin (F-actin) that display atypical properties. In the last decade, significant progress has been made to visualize F-actin and to unravel the functional contribution of actomyosin systems in the biology of Toxoplasma and Plasmodium, the most genetically-tractable members of the phylum. In addition to assigning specific roles to each myosin, recent biochemical and structural studies have begun to uncover mechanistic insights into myosin function at the atomic level. In several instances, the myosin light chains associated with the myosin heavy chains have been identified, helping to understand the composition of the motor complexes and their mode of regulation. Moreover, the considerable advance in proteomic methodologies and especially in assignment of posttranslational modifications is offering a new dimension to our understanding of the regulation of actin dynamics and myosin function. Remarkably, the actomyosin system contributes to three major processes in Toxoplasma gondii: (i) organelle trafficking, positioning and inheritance, (ii) basal pole constriction and intravacuolar cell-cell communication and (iii) motility, invasion, and egress from infected cells. In this chapter, we summarize how the actomyosin system harnesses these key events to ensure successful completion of the parasite life cycle.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/216585
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