Apicoplast biogenesis mediated by ATG8 requires the ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L and SNAP29 complexes in Toxoplasma gondii.

ABSTRACT: In apicomplexan parasites, the macroautophagy/autophagy machinery is repurposed to maintain the plastid-like organelle apicoplast. Previously, we showed that in Toxoplasma and Plasmodium, ATG12 interacts with ATG5 in a non-covalent manner, in contrast to the covalent interaction in most organisms. However, it remained unknown whether apicomplexan parasites have functional orthologs of ATG16L1, a protein that is essential for the function of the covalent ATG12-ATG5 complex in vivo in other organisms. Furthermore, the mechanism used by the autophagy machinery to maintain the apicoplast is unclear. We report that the ATG12-ATG5-ATG16L complex exists in Toxoplasma gondii (Tg). This complex is localized on isolated structures at the periphery of the apicoplast depend

SUBMITTER: Fu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10012919 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature