Date of Award
2009
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.Sc.
Department
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Keywords
Biochemistry, General.
Supervisor
Ananvoranich, Sirinart (Chemistry & Biochemistry)
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Conversion between two growth stages, tachyzoites and bradyzoites, plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Toxoplasma gondii. Current studies aimed to elucidate the roles of lactate dehydrogenase (TgLDH) and argonaute (TgAgo) in relation to conversion. The over-expression of TgLDH1 or TgLDH2 did not change the overall enzymatic activity or increase growth of tachyzoites. However, a significant in vitro differentiation into bradyzoites was detected. These findings suggest that TgLDH1 and TgLDH2 have important physiological functions, in addition to being glycolytic enzymes and differentiation markers. Furthermore, altered TgAgo expression increased bradyzoite formation and interfered with the parasite’s ability to successfully perform double stranded induced gene silencing. The change in TgAgo expression also affected the levels of putative dicer proteins suggesting a direct correlation between TgAgo and an RNAi-like mechanism.
Recommended Citation
Liwak, Urszula, "Toxoplasma gondii Differentiation: Effects of Modifying Lactate Dehydrogenase and Argonaute Expression Patterns" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 306.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/306