Toxoplasma gondii F-Box Protein L2 Silences Feline-Restricted Genes Necessary for Sexual Commitment.

ABSTRACT: Toxoplasma gondii is a foodborne pathogen that can cause severe and life-threatening infections in fetuses and immunocompromised patients. Felids are its only definitive hosts, and a wide range of animals, including humans, serve as intermediate hosts. When the transmissible bradyzoite stage is orally ingested by felids, they transform into merozoites that expand asexually, ultimately generating millions of gametes for the parasite sexual cycle. However, bradyzoites in intermediate hosts differentiate exclusively to disease-causing tachyzoites, which rapidly disseminate throughout the host. Though tachyzoites are well-studied, the molecular mechanisms governing transitioning between developmental stages are poorly understood. Each parasite stage can be distinguished by a characteris

SUBMITTER: Baptista CG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10769283 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature