Characterization of a Homolog of DEAD-box RNA Helicases in Toxoplasma gondii as a Marker of Cytoplasmic mRNP Stress Granules.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2014

Publication Title

Gene

Volume

543

Issue

1

First Page

34

Keywords

Toxoplasma, DEAD-box RNA helicase, Stress granules, Environmental responses

Last Page

44

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan which infects one-third of the human population. Due to its high infection prevalence, Toxoplasma offers an ideal system for the study of host-parasite interaction. Similar to other eukaryotes, Toxoplasma maintains levels and localization of cytoplasmic mRNAs throughout its life cycle as part of a gene regulation network to meet all cellular and biochemical requirements. More recently, it was reported that the presence of cytoplasmic mRNA granules could contribute to the parasite pathogenesis and viability. Here we identified a novel Toxoplasma DEAD-box RNA helicase, referred to as Toxoplasma gondiiHomolog of DOZI (TgHoDI), because of its high homology (81%) to Plasmodium DOZI. TgHoDI is the functional ortholog of yeast DHH1, and its function was authenticated by complementation studies in Δdhh1 yeast strain. We demonstrated that TgHoDI is a marker of cytoplasmic RNA stress granules, which assemble when the parasites experience cellular stresses and translational arrest.

DOI

10.1016/j.gene.2014.04.011

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