GCN5a is a telomeric lysine acetyltransferase whose loss primes <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> for latency.

ABSTRACT: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that causes persistent infection in warm-blooded vertebrates by undergoing differentiation from a replicative stage (tachyzoites) to a latent encysted stage (bradyzoites). Stage differentiation is critical for transmission and pathogenesis and relies on gene regulation driven by a network of transcription and epigenetic factors. We previously found in non-cystogenic type I RH strain parasites that the lysine acetyltransferase (KAT), GCN5a, is dispensable in tachyzoites but required to upregulate stress-response genes, suggesting a link with bradyzoite conversion. To address this possibility, we generated endogenously tagged GCN5a parasites and a genetic knockout in cystogenic type II Pru strain. We show that GCN5a protein, but not mRNA, incr

SUBMITTER: Dey V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12482187 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature