Mining the Giardia genome and proteome for conserved and unique basal body proteins

• Published in: International journal for parasitology Vol. 41; no. 10; pp. 1079 - 1092
• Main Authors: Lauwaet, Tineke, Smith, Alias J., Reiner, David S., Romijn, Edwin P., Wong, Catherine C.L., Davids, Barbara J., Shah, Sheila A., Yates, John R., Gillin, Frances D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 15-08-2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Basal body; Biological and medical sciences; Centrin; Classical genetics, quantitative genetics, hybrids; Computational Biology; Cytoskeleton; Flagella; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes, Protozoan; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Genome, Protozoan; Giardia; Giardia lamblia; Giardia lamblia - chemistry; Giardia lamblia - genetics; Immunolocalisation; Life cycle. Host-agent relationship. Pathogenesis; Microscopy, Confocal; Organelles - chemistry; Organelles - genetics; Proteome - analysis; Proteomics; Protozoa; Protozoan Proteins - analysis; Centrin; Proteomics; Cytoskeleton; Immunolocalisation; Giardia; Flagella; Basal body; Protozoa; Parasite; Proteome; Diplomonadida; Protein; Genome
• ISSN: 0020-7519; 1879-0135
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2011.06.001

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► Sixty-five homologs of conserved basal body proteins were identified in
Giardia. ► Thirteen new basal body proteins were immunolocalised in
Giardia. ► Most basal body proteins localize to additional cytoskeletal structures in
Giardia.
Giardia lamblia is a flagellated protozoan parasite and a major cause of diarrhoea in humans. Its microtubular cytoskeleton mediates trophozoite motility, attachment and cytokinesis, and is characterised by an attachment disk and eight flagella that are each nucleated in a basal body. To date, only 10 giardial basal body proteins have been identified, including universal signalling proteins that are important for regulating mitosis or differentiation. In this study, we have exploited bioinformatics and proteomic approaches to identify new
Giardia basal body proteins and confocal microscopy to confirm their localisation in interphase trophozoites. This approach identified 75 homologs of conserved basal body proteins in the genome including 65 not previously known to be associated with
Giardia basal bodies. Thirteen proteins were confirmed to co-localise with centrin to the
Giardia basal bodies. We also demonstrate that most basal body proteins localise to additional cytoskeletal structures in interphase trophozoites. This might help to explain the roles of the four pairs of flagella and
Giardia-specific organelles in motility and differentiation. A deeper understanding of the composition of the
Giardia basal bodies will contribute insights into the complex signalling pathways that regulate its unique cytoskeleton and the biological divergence of these conserved organelles.