Background: Apicomplexan parasites cause numerous important human diseases, including malaria and toxoplasmosis. Apicomplexa belong to the Alveolata, a group that also includes ciliates and dinoflagellates. Apicomplexa retain a plastid organelle (the apicoplast) that was derived from an endosymbiotic relationship between the alveolate ancestor and a red alga. Apicoplasts are essential for parasite growth and must correctly divide and segregate into daughter cells upon cytokinesis. Apicoplast division depends on association with the mitotic spindle, although little is known about the molecular machinery involved in this process. Apicoplasts lack the conserved machinery that divides chloroplasts in plants and red algae, suggesting that these mechanisms are unique.
Results: Here, we demonstrate that a dynamin-related protein in Toxoplasma gondii (TgDrpA) localizes to punctate regions on the apicoplast surface. We generate a conditional dominant-negative TgDrpA cell line to disrupt TgDrpA functions and demonstrate that TgDrpA is essential for parasite growth and apicoplast biogenesis. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and time-lapse imaging studies provide evidence for a direct role for TgDrpA in apicoplast fission.
Conclusions: Our data suggest that DrpA was likely recruited from the alveolate ancestor to function in fission of the symbiont and ultimately replaced the conserved division machinery of that symbiont.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3941992 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.12.048 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Mitochondrial Electron Flow Dynamics Imaging for Assessing Mitochondrial Quality and Drug Screening.
Adv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Delivery and Release Systems, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, 250117, P. R. China.
Mitochondrial quality control is paramount for cellular development, with mitochondrial electron flow (Mito-EF) playing a central role in maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis. However, unlike visible protein entities, which can be monitored through chemical biotechnology, regulating mitochondrial quality control by invisible entities such as Mito-EF has remained elusive. Here, a Mito-EF tracker (Mito-EFT) with a four-pronged probe design is presented to elucidate the dynamic mechanisms of Mito-EF's involvement in mitochondrial quality control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCalcium-mediated mitochondrial fission and mitophagy drive glycolysis to facilitate arterivirus proliferation.
PLoS Pathog
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Animal Diseases Diagnostic and Immunology, Ministry of Agriculture, MOE International Joint Collaborative Research Laboratory for Animal Health & Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Mitochondria, recognized as the "powerhouse" of cells, play a vital role in generating cellular energy through dynamic processes such as fission and fusion. Viruses have evolved mechanisms to hijack mitochondrial function for their survival and proliferation. Here, we report that infection with the swine arterivirus porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), manipulates mitochondria calcium ions (Ca2+) to induce mitochondrial fission and mitophagy, thereby reprogramming cellular energy metabolism to facilitate its own replication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContinuity of Mitochondrial Budding: Insights from BS-C-1 Cells by In Situ Cryo-electron Tomography.
Microsc Microanal
January 2025
The Laboratory for Biomolecular Structures, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA.
Mitochondrial division is a fundamental biological process essensial for cellular functionality and vitality. The prevailing hypothesis that dynamin related protein 1 (Drp1) provides principal control in mitochondrial division, in which it also involves the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the cytoskeleton, does not account for all the observations. Therefore.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiac-targeted delivery of a novel Drp1 inhibitor for acute cardioprotection.
J Mol Cell Cardiol Plus
September 2024
O'Brien Institute Department, St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, Victoria 3065, Australia.
Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is a mitochondrial fission protein and a viable target for cardioprotection against myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Here, we reported a novel Drp1 inhibitor (DRP1i1), delivered using a cardiac-targeted nanoparticle drug delivery system, as a more effective approach for achieving acute cardioprotection. DRP1i1 was encapsulated in cubosome nanoparticles with conjugated cardiac-homing peptides (NanoDRP1i1) and the encapsulation efficiency was 99.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF4-hydroxybenzoic acid induces browning of white adipose tissue through the AMPK-DRP1 pathway in HFD-induced obese mice.
Phytomedicine
December 2024
Department of Science in Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, 02447, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Pharmacology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 02447, Seoul, South Korea; Kyung Hee Institute of Convergence Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 02447, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address:
Background: Beige adipocytes have physiological functions similar to brown adipocytes, which are available to increase energy expenditure through uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) within mitochondria. Recently, many studies showed white adipocytes can undergo remodeling into beige adipocytes, called "browning", by increasing fusion and fission events referred to as mitochondrial dynamics.
Purpose: In this study, we aimed to investigate the browning effects of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HA), one of the major compounds of black raspberries.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!