Cryo-EM structure of cortical microtubules from human parasite Toxoplasma gondii identifies their microtubule inner proteins

Xiangli Wang; Yong Fu; Wandy L. Beatty; Meisheng Ma; Alan Brown; L. David Sibley; Rui Zhang

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23351-1

Nature Communications (May 2021)

Cryo-EM structure of cortical microtubules from human parasite Toxoplasma gondii identifies their microtubule inner proteins

Xiangli Wang,
Yong Fu,
Wandy L. Beatty,
Meisheng Ma,
Alan Brown,
L. David Sibley,
Rui Zhang

Affiliations

Xiangli Wang: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Yong Fu: Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Wandy L. Beatty: Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Meisheng Ma: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Alan Brown: Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School
L. David Sibley: Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
Rui Zhang: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23351-1
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 14

Abstract

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Cortical microtubules (MTs) in Apicomplexa are specialized MTs involved in maintaining the parasite’s shape and are, as such, unusually stable. Here, cryo-EM analysis of cortical MTs from Toxoplasma gondii offers insight into the mechanism of their stabilization by three bona fide microtubule inner proteins.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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