A Toxoplasma MORN1 null mutant undergoes repeated divisions but is defective in basal assembly, apicoplast division and cytokinesis

Lorestani, A., Sheiner, L. , Yang, K., Robertson, S.D., Sahoo, N., Brooks, C.F., Ferguson, D.J.P., Striepen, B. and Gubbels, M.-J. (2010) A Toxoplasma MORN1 null mutant undergoes repeated divisions but is defective in basal assembly, apicoplast division and cytokinesis. PLoS ONE, 5(8), e12302. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012302)

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Abstract

The membrane occupation and recognition nexus protein 1 (MORN1) is highly conserved among apicomplexan parasites and is associated with several structures that have a role in cell division. Here we dissected the role of MORN1 using the relatively simple budding process of Toxoplasma gondii as a model. Ablation of MORN1 in a conditional null mutant resulted in pronounced defects suggesting a central role for MORN1 in apicoplast segregation and in daughter cell budding. Lack of MORN1 resulted in double-headed parasites. These Janus-headed parasites form two complete apical complexes but fail to assemble a basal complex. Moreover, these parasites were capable of undergoing several more budding rounds resulting in the formation of up to 16-headed parasites conjoined at the basal end. Despite this segregation defect, the mother's cytoskeleton was completely disassembled in every budding round. Overall this argues that successful completion of the budding is not required for cell cycle progression. None of the known basal complex components, including a set of recently identified inner membrane complex (IMC) proteins, localized correctly in these multi-headed parasites. These data suggest that MORN1 is essential for assembly of the basal complex, and that lack of the basal complex abolishes the contractile capacity assigned to the basal complex late in daughter formation. Consistent with this hypothesis we observe that MORN1 mutants fail to efficiently constrict and divide the apicoplast. We used the null background provided by the mutant to dissect the function of subdomains of the MORN1 protein. This demonstrated that deletion of a single MORN domain already prevented the function of MORN1 whereas a critical role for the short linker between MORN domains 6 and 7 was identified. In conclusion, MORN1 is required for basal complex assembly and loss of MORN1 results in defects in apicoplast division and daughter segregation.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Sheiner, Professor Lilach
Authors: Lorestani, A., Sheiner, L., Yang, K., Robertson, S.D., Sahoo, N., Brooks, C.F., Ferguson, D.J.P., Striepen, B., and Gubbels, M.-J.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
Journal Name:PLoS ONE
Publisher:Public Library of Science
ISSN:1932-6203
ISSN (Online):1932-6203
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2010 The Authors
First Published:First published in PLoS ONE 5(8):e12302
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License
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