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Iida H. Cytoplasmic streaming of symbiotic algae in the ciliate Stentor pyriformis. Protist 2025; 176:126086. [PMID: 39864254 DOI: 10.1016/j.protis.2025.126086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2024] [Revised: 11/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2025] [Indexed: 01/28/2025]
Abstract
Stentor pyriformis is a unicellular organism whose inherent green-algal symbionts can be utilized in evolutionary and cytological studies. The cytoplasm contains symbiotic algae and starch granules, which are in constant motion. The habitats of the ciliate S. pyriformis are restricted to a few oligotrophic ponds in Japan. This study aimed to develop a culture medium for long-term incubation based on pond water quality data and to investigate the cytoplasmic streaming of symbiotic algae and starch granules in S. pyriformis. In addition, the involvement of the cytoskeleton and motor proteins in cytoplasmic streaming was examined using microtubule polymerization and dynein ATPase inhibitors. The results indicated that the cytoplasmic streaming in S. pyriformis is associated with the microtubule system. Immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of KM-fibers, bundles of microtubules running longitudinally along the cell surface. These findings suggest a possible link between microtubules and cytoplasmic streaming in S. pyriformis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hitoshi Iida
- Chiba Institute of Science, 3 Shiomi-cho, Choshi, Chiba 288-0025, Japan.
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Boisard J, Duvernois-Berthet E, Duval L, Schrével J, Guillou L, Labat A, Le Panse S, Prensier G, Ponger L, Florent I. Marine gregarine genomes reveal the breadth of apicomplexan diversity with a partially conserved glideosome machinery. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:485. [PMID: 35780080 PMCID: PMC9250747 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08700-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Our current view of the evolutionary history, coding and adaptive capacities of Apicomplexa, protozoan parasites of a wide range of metazoan, is currently strongly biased toward species infecting humans, as data on early diverging apicomplexan lineages infecting invertebrates is extremely limited. Here, we characterized the genome of the marine eugregarine Porospora gigantea, intestinal parasite of Lobsters, remarkable for the macroscopic size of its vegetative feeding forms (trophozoites) and its gliding speed, the fastest so far recorded for Apicomplexa. Two highly syntenic genomes named A and B were assembled. Similar in size (~ 9 Mb) and coding capacity (~ 5300 genes), A and B genomes are 10.8% divergent at the nucleotide level, corresponding to 16-38 My in divergent time. Orthogroup analysis across 25 (proto)Apicomplexa species, including Gregarina niphandrodes, showed that A and B are highly divergent from all other known apicomplexan species, revealing an unexpected breadth of diversity. Phylogenetically these two species branch sisters to Cephaloidophoroidea, and thus expand the known crustacean gregarine superfamily. The genomes were mined for genes encoding proteins necessary for gliding, a key feature of apicomplexans parasites, currently studied through the molecular model called glideosome. Sequence analysis shows that actin-related proteins and regulatory factors are strongly conserved within apicomplexans. In contrast, the predicted protein sequences of core glideosome proteins and adhesion proteins are highly variable among apicomplexan lineages, especially in gregarines. These results confirm the importance of studying gregarines to widen our biological and evolutionary view of apicomplexan species diversity, and to deepen our understanding of the molecular bases of key functions such as gliding, well known to allow access to the intracellular parasitic lifestyle in Apicomplexa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Boisard
- Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245 CNRS), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP 52, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Cedex 05, Paris, France. .,Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Structure et instabilité des génomes (STRING UMR 7196 CNRS/INSERM U1154), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, INSERM, CP 26, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Cedex 05, Paris, France. .,Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Evelyne Duvernois-Berthet
- Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Physiologie Moléculaire et Adaptation (PhyMA UMR 7221 CNRS), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, CP 32, 7 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Linda Duval
- Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245 CNRS), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP 52, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Cedex 05, Paris, France
| | - Joseph Schrével
- Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245 CNRS), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP 52, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Cedex 05, Paris, France
| | - Laure Guillou
- CNRS, UMR7144 Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin, Ecology of Marine Plankton (ECOMAP), Station Biologique de Roscoff SBR, Sorbonne Université, 29680, Roscoff, France
| | - Amandine Labat
- Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245 CNRS), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP 52, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Cedex 05, Paris, France
| | - Sophie Le Panse
- Plateforme d'Imagerie Merimage, FR2424, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Station Biologique de Roscoff, 29680, Roscoff, France
| | - Gérard Prensier
- Cell biology and Electron Microscopy Laboratory, François Rabelais University, 10 Boulevard Tonnellé, 3223 Cedex, Tours, BP, France
| | - Loïc Ponger
- Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Structure et instabilité des génomes (STRING UMR 7196 CNRS/INSERM U1154), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, INSERM, CP 26, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Cedex 05, Paris, France.
| | - Isabelle Florent
- Département Adaptations du Vivant (AVIV), Molécules de Communication et Adaptation des Microorganismes (MCAM, UMR 7245 CNRS), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, CP 52, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Cedex 05, Paris, France.
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Cortés GT, Beltran MMG, Gómez-Alegría CJ, Wiser MF. Identification of a protein unique to the genus Plasmodium that contains a WD40 repeat domain and extensive low-complexity sequence. Parasitol Res 2021; 120:2617-2629. [PMID: 34142223 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-021-07190-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Proteins containing WD40 domains play important roles in the formation of multiprotein complexes. Little is known about WD40 proteins in the malaria parasite. This report contains the initial description of a WD40 protein that is unique to the genus Plasmodium and possibly closely related genera. The N-terminal portion of this protein consists of seven WD40 repeats that are highly conserved in all Plasmodium species. Following the N-terminal region is a central region that is conserved within the major Plasmodium clades, such as parasites of great apes, monkeys, rodents, and birds, but partially conserved across all Plasmodium species. This central region contains extensive low-complexity sequence and is predicted to have a disordered structure. Proteins with disordered structure generally function in molecular interactions. The C-terminal region is semi-conserved across all Plasmodium species and has no notable features. This WD40 repeat protein likely functions in some aspect of parasite biology that is unique to Plasmodium and this uniqueness makes the protein a possible target for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gladys T Cortés
- Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Grupo Biologia Celular, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Martha Margarita Gonzalez Beltran
- Ex alumna de la Maestría en Ciencias-Bioquímica, Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Grupo UNIMOL, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Claudio J Gómez-Alegría
- Departamento de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Grupo UNIMOL, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Mark F Wiser
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2301, New Orleans, LA, 70112-2824, USA.
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Motility and cytoskeletal organisation in the archigregarine Selenidium pygospionis (Apicomplexa): observations on native and experimentally affected parasites. Parasitol Res 2019; 118:2651-2667. [PMID: 31270680 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-019-06381-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Representatives of Apicomplexa perform various kinds of movements that are linked to the different stages of their life cycle. Ancestral apicomplexan lineages, including gregarines, represent organisms suitable for research into the evolution and diversification of motility within the group. The vermiform trophozoites and gamonts of the archigregarine Selenidium pygospionis perform a very active type of bending motility. Experimental assays and subsequent light, electron, and confocal microscopic analyses demonstrated the fundamental role of the cytoskeletal proteins actin and tubulin in S. pygospionis motility and allowed us to compare the mechanism of its movement to the gliding machinery (the so-called glideosome concept) described in apicomplexan zoites. Actin-modifying drugs caused a reduction in the movement speed (cytochalasin D) or stopped the motility of archigregarines completely (jasplakinolide). Microtubule-disrupting drugs (oryzalin and colchicine) had an even more noticeable effect on archigregarine motility. The fading and disappearance of microtubules were documented in ultrathin sections, along with the formation of α-tubulin clusters visible after the immunofluorescent labelling of drug-treated archigregarines. The obtained data indicate that subpellicular microtubules most likely constitute the main motor structure involved in S. pygospionis bending motility, while actin has rather a supportive function.
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Abstract
The WD40 domain is one of the most abundant and interacting domains in the eukaryotic genome. In proteins the WD domain folds into a β-propeller structure, providing a platform for the interaction and assembly of several proteins into a signalosome. WD40 repeats containing proteins, in lower eukaryotes, are mainly involved in growth, cell cycle, development and virulence, while in higher organisms, they play an important role in diverse cellular functions like signal transduction, cell cycle control, intracellular transport, chromatin remodelling, cytoskeletal organization, apoptosis, development, transcriptional regulation, immune responses. To play the regulatory role in various processes, they act as a scaffold for protein-protein or protein-DNA interaction. So far, no WD40 domain has been identified with intrinsic enzymatic activity. Several WD40 domain-containing proteins have been recently characterized in prokaryotes as well. The review summarizes the vast array of functions performed by different WD40 domain containing proteins, their domain organization and functional conservation during the course of evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Buddhi Prakash Jain
- Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar, 845401, India.
| | - Shweta Pandey
- APSGMNS Govt P G College, Kawardha, Chhattisgarh, 491995, India
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Kováčiková M, Vaškovicová N, Nebesářová J, Valigurová A. Effect of jasplakinolide and cytochalasin D on cortical elements involved in the gliding motility of the eugregarine Gregarina garnhami (Apicomplexa). Eur J Protistol 2018; 66:97-114. [PMID: 30261411 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejop.2018.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 08/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Since apicomplexans represent exclusively parasitic unicellular organisms with medical and economic impacts, the principles of their motility have been studied intensively. By contrast, the movement in apicomplexan basal groups, such as gregarines, remains to be elucidated. The present study focuses on Gregarina garnhami parasitising the digestive tract of the locust Schistocerca gregaria, and investigates the involvement of cytoskeletal elements (the ectoplasmic network and myonemes) and the secretion of mucosubstances during eugregarine gliding motility. Combined microscopic analyses were used to verify the role of actin filaments and membranes' organisation in G. garnhami motility. A freeze-etching analysis of membranes revealed the size, density, and arrangement of intramembranous particles along with the distribution and size of pores and ducts. Experimental assays using actin-modifying drugs (jasplakinolide, cytochalasin D) confirmed that actin most likely plays a role in cell motility, principally in its filamentous form (=F-actin). Myonemes, localised in the border between the ectoplasm and endoplasm, correspond to the concentric bundles of F-actin. Microscopic analyses confirmed that changes in gamonts motility corresponding to the changes in the organisation and density of myonemes and the ectoplasmic network in drug-treated cells, suggesting that these structures might serve as contractile elements facilitating gliding motility in G. garnhami.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdaléna Kováčiková
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Naděžda Vaškovicová
- The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Scientific Instruments, Královopolská 147, 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Nebesářová
- University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science and Biology Centre of the ASCR, Institute of Parasitology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Andrea Valigurová
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
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Mueller C, Graindorge A, Soldati-Favre D. Functions of myosin motors tailored for parasitism. Curr Opin Microbiol 2017; 40:113-122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2017.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2017] [Revised: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Valigurová A, Vaškovicová N, Diakin A, Paskerova GG, Simdyanov TG, Kováčiková M. Motility in blastogregarines (Apicomplexa): Native and drug-induced organisation of Siedleckia nematoides cytoskeletal elements. PLoS One 2017. [PMID: 28640849 PMCID: PMC5480980 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0179709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies on motility of Apicomplexa concur with the so-called glideosome concept applied for apicomplexan zoites, describing a unique mechanism of substrate-dependent gliding motility facilitated by a conserved form of actomyosin motor and subpellicular microtubules. In contrast, the gregarines and blastogregarines exhibit different modes and mechanisms of motility, correlating with diverse modifications of their cortex. This study focuses on the motility and cytoskeleton of the blastogregarine Siedleckia nematoides Caullery et Mesnil, 1898 parasitising the polychaete Scoloplos cf. armiger (Müller, 1776). The blastogregarine moves independently on a solid substrate without any signs of gliding motility; the motility in a liquid environment (in both the attached and detached forms) rather resembles a sequence of pendular, twisting, undulation, and sometimes spasmodic movements. Despite the presence of key glideosome components such as pellicle consisting of the plasma membrane and the inner membrane complex, actin, myosin, subpellicular microtubules, micronemes and glycocalyx layer, the motility mechanism of S. nematoides differs from the glideosome machinery. Nevertheless, experimental assays using cytoskeletal probes proved that the polymerised forms of actin and tubulin play an essential role in the S. nematoides movement. Similar to Selenidium archigregarines, the subpellicular microtubules organised in several layers seem to be the leading motor structures in blastogregarine motility. The majority of the detected actin was stabilised in a polymerised form and appeared to be located beneath the inner membrane complex. The experimental data suggest the subpellicular microtubules to be associated with filamentous structures (= cross-linking protein complexes), presumably of actin nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Valigurová
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Naděžda Vaškovicová
- Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS, v. v. i., Královopolská 147, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Andrei Diakin
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Gita G. Paskerova
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Saint-Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya emb. 7/9, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Timur G. Simdyanov
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskiye Gory 1–12, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Magdaléna Kováčiková
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, Brno, Czech Republic
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Valigurová A, Vaškovicová N, Musilová N, Schrével J. The enigma of eugregarine epicytic folds: where gliding motility originates? Front Zool 2013; 10:57. [PMID: 24053424 PMCID: PMC3849649 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-10-57] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2013] [Accepted: 08/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In the past decades, many studies focused on the cell motility of apicomplexan invasive stages as they represent a potential target for chemotherapeutic intervention. Gregarines (Conoidasida, Gregarinasina) are a heterogeneous group that parasitize invertebrates and urochordates, and are thought to be an early branching lineage of Apicomplexa. As characteristic of apicomplexan zoites, gregarines are covered by a complicated pellicle, consisting of the plasma membrane and the closely apposed inner membrane complex, which is associated with a number of cytoskeletal elements. The cell cortex of eugregarines, the epicyte, is more complicated than that of other apicomplexans, as it forms various superficial structures. Results The epicyte of the eugregarines, Gregarina cuneata, G. polymorpha and G. steini, analysed in the present study is organised in longitudinal folds covering the entire cell. In mature trophozoites and gamonts, each epicytic fold exhibits similar ectoplasmic structures and is built up from the plasma membrane, inner membrane complex, 12-nm filaments, rippled dense structures and basal lamina. In addition, rib-like myonemes and an ectoplasmic network are frequently observed. Under experimental conditions, eugregarines showed varied speeds and paths of simple linear gliding. In all three species, actin and myosin were associated with the pellicle, and this actomyosin complex appeared to be restricted to the lateral parts of the epicytic folds. Treatment of living gamonts with jasplakinolide and cytochalasin D confirmed that actin actively participates in gregarine gliding. Contributions to gliding of specific subcellular components are discussed. Conclusions Cell motility in gregarines and other apicomplexans share features in common, i.e. a three-layered pellicle, an actomyosin complex, and the polymerisation of actin during gliding. Although the general architecture and supramolecular organisation of the pellicle is not correlated with gliding rates of eugregarines, an increase in cytoplasmic mucus concentration is correlated. Furthermore, our data suggest that gregarines utilize several mechanisms of cell motility and that this is influenced by environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Valigurová
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic.
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Eugregarine trophozoite detachment from the host epithelium via epimerite retraction: Fiction or fact? Int J Parasitol 2009; 39:1235-42. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2009.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2009] [Revised: 04/30/2009] [Accepted: 04/30/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Wasmuth J, Daub J, Peregrín-Alvarez JM, Finney CAM, Parkinson J. The origins of apicomplexan sequence innovation. Genome Res 2009; 19:1202-13. [PMID: 19363216 DOI: 10.1101/gr.083386.108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The Apicomplexa are a group of phylogenetically related parasitic protists that include Plasmodium, Cryptosporidium, and Toxoplasma. Together they are a major global burden on human health and economics. To meet this challenge, several international consortia have generated vast amounts of sequence data for many of these parasites. Here, we exploit these data to perform a systematic analysis of protein family and domain incidence across the phylum. A total of 87,736 protein sequences were collected from 15 apicomplexan species. These were compared with three protein databases, including the partial genome database, PartiGeneDB, which increases the breadth of taxonomic coverage. From these searches we constructed taxonomic profiles that reveal the extent of apicomplexan sequence diversity. Sequences without a significant match outside the phylum were denoted as apicomplexan specialized. These were collated into 9134 discrete protein families and placed in the context of the apicomplexan phylogeny, identifying the putative origin of each family. Most apicomplexan families were associated with an individual genus or species. Interestingly, many genera-specific innovations were associated with specialized host cell invasion and/or parasite survival processes. Contrastingly, those families reflecting more ancestral relationships were enriched in generalized housekeeping functions such as translation and transcription, which have diverged within the apicomplexan lineage. Protein domain searches revealed 192 domains not previously reported in apicomplexans together with a number of novel domain combinations. We highlight domains that may be important to parasite survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Wasmuth
- Program in Molecular Structure and Function, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2L3, Canada.
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