Abstract
AbstractSexual development in Toxoplasma gondii is a multistep process that culminates in the production of oocysts, constituting approximately 50% of human infections. However, the molecular mechanisms governing sexual commitment in this parasite remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the transcription factors AP2XI-2 and AP2XII-1 act as negative regulators, suppressing merozoite-primed pre-sexual commitment during asexual development. Depletion of AP2XI-2 in type II Pru strain induces merogony and production of mature merozoites in an alkaline medium but not in a neutral medium. In contrast, AP2XII-1-depleted Pru strain undergoes several rounds of merogony and produces merozoites in a neutral medium, with more pronounced effects observed under alkaline conditions. Additionally, we identified two additional AP2XI-2-interacting proteins involved in repressing merozoite programming. These findings underscore the intricate regulation of pre-sexual commitment by a network of factors and suggest that AP2XI-2 or AP2XII-1-depleted Pru parasites can serve as a model for studying merogony in vitro.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference67 articles.
1. Dubey, J. P., Lindsay, D. S. & Speer, C. A. Structures of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites, bradyzoites, and sporozoites and biology and development of tissue cysts. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 11, 267–299 (1998).
2. Montoya, J. G. & Liesenfeld, O. Toxoplasmosis. Lancet 363, 1965–1976 (2004).
3. Robert-Gangneux, F. & Dardé, M. L. Epidemiology of and diagnostic strategies for toxoplasmosis. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 25, 264–296 (2012).
4. Elsheikha, H. M., Marra, C. M. & Zhu, X. Q. Epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of cerebral toxoplasmosis. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 34, e00115–19 (2021).
5. Kim, K. The epigenome, cell cycle, and development in Toxoplasma. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 72, 479–499 (2018).
Cited by
7 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献，注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献，订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献