Static Clathrin Assemblies at the Peripheral Vacuole-Plasma Membrane Interface of the Parasitic Protozoan Giardia lamblia.

ABSTRACT: Giardia lamblia is a parasitic protozoan that infects a wide range of vertebrate hosts including humans. Trophozoites are non-invasive but associate tightly with the enterocyte surface of the small intestine. This narrow ecological specialization entailed extensive morphological and functional adaptations during host-parasite co-evolution, including a distinctly polarized array of endocytic organelles termed peripheral vacuoles (PVs), which are confined to the dorsal cortical region exposed to the gut lumen and are in close proximity to the plasma membrane (PM). Here, we investigated the molecular consequences of these adaptations on the Giardia endocytic machinery and membrane coat complexes. Despite the absence of canonical clathrin coated vesicles in electron microscopy, Giardia possess

SUBMITTER: Zumthor JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4954726 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature