Microtubule number and length determine cellular shape and function in Plasmodium

The EMBO Journal
Benjamin SprengFriedrich Frischknecht

Abstract

Microtubules are cytoskeletal filaments essential for many cellular processes, including establishment and maintenance of polarity, intracellular transport, division and migration. In most metazoan cells, the number and length of microtubules are highly variable, while they can be precisely defined in some protozoan organisms. However, in either case the significance of these two key parameters for cells is not known. Here, we quantitatively studied the impact of modulating microtubule number and length in Plasmodium, the protozoan parasite causing malaria. Using a gene deletion and replacement strategy targeting one out of two α-tubulin genes, we show that chromosome segregation proceeds in the oocysts even in the absence of microtubules. However, fewer and shorter microtubules severely impaired the formation, motility and infectivity of Plasmodium sporozoites, the forms transmitted by the mosquito, which usually contain 16 microtubules. We found that α-tubulin expression levels directly determined the number of microtubules, suggesting a high nucleation barrier as supported by a mathematical model. Infectious sporozoites were only formed in parasite lines featuring at least 10 microtubules, while parasites with 9 or fewer mic...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 1, 2020·Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Developmental Biology·Chase C WesleyDaniel L Levy
Feb 9, 2020·Journal of Cell Science·Catherine A MoreauFriedrich Frischknecht
Jun 26, 2020·Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology·Marc-Jan GubbelsManoj T Duraisingh
Jun 4, 2020·Trends in Parasitology·Nicolas Dos Santos PachecoDominique Soldati-Favre
Feb 12, 2021·Chembiochem : a European Journal of Chemical Biology·Johannes Broichhagen, Nicole Kilian
May 1, 2021·PLoS Computational Biology·Lisette Meerstein-KesselMartijn A Huynen
Apr 27, 2021·Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology·Marta MachadoMarkus Ganter
May 25, 2021·Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology·Caroline S SimonJulien Guizetti

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
transfection
genetic modification
PCR
confocal microscopy
transmission electron microscopy
electron microscopy
transfections
light microscopy
fluorescence assay
genetic modifications

Software Mentioned

ImageJ
IMOD
Volocity
PlasmoDB
SnapGene
NEBuilder
GraphPad Prism
Fiji
PlasmoGEM
CLC Main Workbench

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