Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp.
Microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) perform critical cellular tasks by nucleating, stabilizing, and anchoring microtubule’s minus ends. These capacities impact tremendously a wide array of cellular functions ranging from ascribing cell shape to orchestrating cell division and generating motile st...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/12/2503 |
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| author | Ramiro Tomasina Fabiana C. González Maria E. Francia |
| author_facet | Ramiro Tomasina Fabiana C. González Maria E. Francia |
| author_sort | Ramiro Tomasina |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) perform critical cellular tasks by nucleating, stabilizing, and anchoring microtubule’s minus ends. These capacities impact tremendously a wide array of cellular functions ranging from ascribing cell shape to orchestrating cell division and generating motile structures, among others. The phylum Apicomplexa comprises over 6000 single-celled obligate intracellular parasitic species. Many of the apicomplexan are well known pathogens such as <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and the <i>Plasmodium</i> species, causative agents of toxoplasmosis and malaria, respectively. Microtubule organization in these parasites is critical for organizing the cortical cytoskeleton, enabling host cell penetration and the positioning of large organelles, driving cell division and directing the formation of flagella in sexual life stages. Apicomplexans are a prime example of MTOC diversity displaying multiple functional and structural MTOCs combinations within a single species. This diversity can only be fully understood in light of each organism’s specific MT nucleation requirements and their evolutionary history. Insight into apicomplexan MTOCs had traditionally been limited to classical ultrastructural work by transmission electron microscopy. However, in the past few years, a large body of molecular insight has emerged. In this work we describe the latest insights into nuclear MTOC biology in two major human and animal disease causing Apicomplexans: <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:32:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-406b6adb954845a6affce89255e24a29 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:32:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-406b6adb954845a6affce89255e24a292023-11-23T09:38:58ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072021-12-01912250310.3390/microorganisms9122503Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp.Ramiro Tomasina0Fabiana C. González1Maria E. Francia2Laboratory of Apicomplexan Biology, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo 11400, UruguayLaboratory of Apicomplexan Biology, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo 11400, UruguayLaboratory of Apicomplexan Biology, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo 11400, UruguayMicrotubule organizing centers (MTOCs) perform critical cellular tasks by nucleating, stabilizing, and anchoring microtubule’s minus ends. These capacities impact tremendously a wide array of cellular functions ranging from ascribing cell shape to orchestrating cell division and generating motile structures, among others. The phylum Apicomplexa comprises over 6000 single-celled obligate intracellular parasitic species. Many of the apicomplexan are well known pathogens such as <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and the <i>Plasmodium</i> species, causative agents of toxoplasmosis and malaria, respectively. Microtubule organization in these parasites is critical for organizing the cortical cytoskeleton, enabling host cell penetration and the positioning of large organelles, driving cell division and directing the formation of flagella in sexual life stages. Apicomplexans are a prime example of MTOC diversity displaying multiple functional and structural MTOCs combinations within a single species. This diversity can only be fully understood in light of each organism’s specific MT nucleation requirements and their evolutionary history. Insight into apicomplexan MTOCs had traditionally been limited to classical ultrastructural work by transmission electron microscopy. However, in the past few years, a large body of molecular insight has emerged. In this work we describe the latest insights into nuclear MTOC biology in two major human and animal disease causing Apicomplexans: <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/12/2503microtubule organizing centercentrosomecentriolar plaque<i>Plasmodium</i><i>Toxoplasma gondii</i>ultrastructure expansion microscopy |
| spellingShingle | Ramiro Tomasina Fabiana C. González Maria E. Francia Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp. Microorganisms microtubule organizing center centrosome centriolar plaque <i>Plasmodium</i> <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> ultrastructure expansion microscopy |
| title | Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp. |
| title_full | Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp. |
| title_fullStr | Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp. |
| title_short | Structural and Functional Insights into the Microtubule Organizing Centers of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Plasmodium</i> spp. |
| title_sort | structural and functional insights into the microtubule organizing centers of i toxoplasma gondii i and i plasmodium i spp |
| topic | microtubule organizing center centrosome centriolar plaque <i>Plasmodium</i> <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> ultrastructure expansion microscopy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/12/2503 |
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