A MORC-driven transcriptional switch controls Toxoplasma developmental trajectories and sexual commitment.

ABSTRACT: Toxoplasma gondii has a complex life cycle that is typified by asexual development that takes place in vertebrates, and sexual reproduction, which occurs exclusively in felids and is therefore less studied. The developmental transitions rely on changes in the patterns of gene expression, and recent studies have assigned roles for chromatin shapers, including histone modifications, in establishing specific epigenetic programs for each given stage. Here, we identified the T. gondii microrchidia (MORC) protein as an upstream transcriptional repressor of sexual commitment. MORC, in a complex with Apetala 2 (AP2) transcription factors, was shown to recruit the histone deacetylase HDAC3, thereby impeding the accessibility of chromatin at the genes that are exclusively expressed during sexual sta

SUBMITTER: Farhat DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7104380 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature