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Lee C, Maier W, Jiang YY, Nakano K, Lechtreck KF, Gaertig J. Global and local functions of the Fused kinase ortholog CdaH in intracellular patterning in Tetrahymena. J Cell Sci 2024; 137:jcs261256. [PMID: 37667859 PMCID: PMC10565251 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.261256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Ciliates assemble numerous microtubular structures into complex cortical patterns. During ciliate division, the pattern is duplicated by intracellular segmentation that produces a tandem of daughter cells. In Tetrahymena thermophila, the induction and positioning of the division boundary involves two mutually antagonistic factors: posterior CdaA (cyclin E) and anterior CdaI (Hippo kinase). Here, we characterized the related cdaH-1 allele, which confers a pleiotropic patterning phenotype including an absence of the division boundary and an anterior-posterior mispositioning of the new oral apparatus. CdaH is a Fused or Stk36 kinase ortholog that localizes to multiple sites that correlate with the effects of its loss, including the division boundary and the new oral apparatus. CdaH acts downstream of CdaA to induce the division boundary and drives asymmetric cytokinesis at the tip of the posterior daughter. CdaH both maintains the anterior-posterior position of the new oral apparatus and interacts with CdaI to pattern ciliary rows within the oral apparatus. Thus, CdaH acts at multiple scales, from induction and positioning of structures on the cell-wide polarity axis to local organelle-level patterning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinkyu Lee
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Wolfgang Maier
- Bioinformatics, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Yu-Yang Jiang
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Kentaro Nakano
- Degree Programs in Biology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
| | - Karl F. Lechtreck
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jacek Gaertig
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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2
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Cole E, Gaertig J. Anterior-posterior pattern formation in ciliates. J Eukaryot Microbiol 2022; 69:e12890. [PMID: 35075744 PMCID: PMC9309198 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.12890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
As single cells, ciliates build, duplicate, and even regenerate complex cortical patterns by largely unknown mechanisms that precisely position organelles along two cell‐wide axes: anterior–posterior and circumferential (left–right). We review our current understanding of intracellular patterning along the anterior–posterior axis in ciliates, with emphasis on how the new pattern emerges during cell division. We focus on the recent progress at the molecular level that has been driven by the discovery of genes whose mutations cause organelle positioning defects in the model ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. These investigations have revealed a network of highly conserved kinases that are confined to either anterior or posterior domains in the cell cortex. These pattern‐regulating kinases create zones of cortical inhibition that by exclusion determine the precise placement of organelles. We discuss observations and models derived from classical microsurgical experiments in large ciliates (including Stentor) and interpret them in light of recent molecular findings in Tetrahymena. In particular, we address the involvement of intracellular gradients as vehicles for positioning organelles along the anterior‐posterior axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Cole
- Biology Department, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, USA
| | - Jacek Gaertig
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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Cavalier-Smith T, Chao EEY. Multidomain ribosomal protein trees and the planctobacterial origin of neomura (eukaryotes, archaebacteria). PROTOPLASMA 2020. [PMID: 31900730 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-019-01442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Palaeontologically, eubacteria are > 3× older than neomura (eukaryotes, archaebacteria). Cell biology contrasts ancestral eubacterial murein peptidoglycan walls and derived neomuran N-linked glycoprotein coats/walls. Misinterpreting long stems connecting clade neomura to eubacteria on ribosomal sequence trees (plus misinterpreted protein paralogue trees) obscured this historical pattern. Universal multiprotein ribosomal protein (RP) trees, more accurate than rRNA trees, are taxonomically undersampled. To reduce contradictions with genically richer eukaryote trees and improve eubacterial phylogeny, we constructed site-heterogeneous and maximum-likelihood universal three-domain, two-domain, and single-domain trees for 143 eukaryotes (branching now congruent with 187-protein trees), 60 archaebacteria, and 151 taxonomically representative eubacteria, using 51 and 26 RPs. Site-heterogeneous trees greatly improve eubacterial phylogeny and higher classification, e.g. showing gracilicute monophyly, that many 'rDNA-phyla' belong in Proteobacteria, and reveal robust new phyla Synthermota and Aquithermota. Monoderm Posibacteria and Mollicutes (two separate wall losses) are both polyphyletic: multiple outer membrane losses in Endobacteria occurred separately from Actinobacteria; neither phylum is related to Chloroflexi, the most divergent prokaryotes, which originated photosynthesis (new model proposed). RP trees support an eozoan root for eukaryotes and are consistent with archaebacteria being their sisters and rooted between Filarchaeota (=Proteoarchaeota, including 'Asgardia') and Euryarchaeota sensu-lato (including ultrasimplified 'DPANN' whose long branches often distort trees). Two-domain trees group eukaryotes within Planctobacteria, and archaebacteria with Planctobacteria/Sphingobacteria. Integrated molecular/palaeontological evidence favours negibacterial ancestors for neomura and all life. Unique presence of key pre-neomuran characters favours Planctobacteria only as ancestral to neomura, which apparently arose by coevolutionary repercussions (explained here in detail, including RP replacement) of simultaneous outer membrane and murein loss. Planctobacterial C-1 methanotrophic enzymes are likely ancestral to archaebacterial methanogenesis and β-propeller-α-solenoid proteins to eukaryotic vesicle coats, nuclear-pore-complexes, and intraciliary transport. Planctobacterial chaperone-independent 4/5-protofilament microtubules and MamK actin-ancestors prepared for eukaryote intracellular motility, mitosis, cytokinesis, and phagocytosis. We refute numerous wrong ideas about the universal tree.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ema E-Yung Chao
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
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Cavalier-Smith T, Chao EEY. Multidomain ribosomal protein trees and the planctobacterial origin of neomura (eukaryotes, archaebacteria). PROTOPLASMA 2020; 257:621-753. [PMID: 31900730 PMCID: PMC7203096 DOI: 10.1007/s00709-019-01442-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Palaeontologically, eubacteria are > 3× older than neomura (eukaryotes, archaebacteria). Cell biology contrasts ancestral eubacterial murein peptidoglycan walls and derived neomuran N-linked glycoprotein coats/walls. Misinterpreting long stems connecting clade neomura to eubacteria on ribosomal sequence trees (plus misinterpreted protein paralogue trees) obscured this historical pattern. Universal multiprotein ribosomal protein (RP) trees, more accurate than rRNA trees, are taxonomically undersampled. To reduce contradictions with genically richer eukaryote trees and improve eubacterial phylogeny, we constructed site-heterogeneous and maximum-likelihood universal three-domain, two-domain, and single-domain trees for 143 eukaryotes (branching now congruent with 187-protein trees), 60 archaebacteria, and 151 taxonomically representative eubacteria, using 51 and 26 RPs. Site-heterogeneous trees greatly improve eubacterial phylogeny and higher classification, e.g. showing gracilicute monophyly, that many 'rDNA-phyla' belong in Proteobacteria, and reveal robust new phyla Synthermota and Aquithermota. Monoderm Posibacteria and Mollicutes (two separate wall losses) are both polyphyletic: multiple outer membrane losses in Endobacteria occurred separately from Actinobacteria; neither phylum is related to Chloroflexi, the most divergent prokaryotes, which originated photosynthesis (new model proposed). RP trees support an eozoan root for eukaryotes and are consistent with archaebacteria being their sisters and rooted between Filarchaeota (=Proteoarchaeota, including 'Asgardia') and Euryarchaeota sensu-lato (including ultrasimplified 'DPANN' whose long branches often distort trees). Two-domain trees group eukaryotes within Planctobacteria, and archaebacteria with Planctobacteria/Sphingobacteria. Integrated molecular/palaeontological evidence favours negibacterial ancestors for neomura and all life. Unique presence of key pre-neomuran characters favours Planctobacteria only as ancestral to neomura, which apparently arose by coevolutionary repercussions (explained here in detail, including RP replacement) of simultaneous outer membrane and murein loss. Planctobacterial C-1 methanotrophic enzymes are likely ancestral to archaebacterial methanogenesis and β-propeller-α-solenoid proteins to eukaryotic vesicle coats, nuclear-pore-complexes, and intraciliary transport. Planctobacterial chaperone-independent 4/5-protofilament microtubules and MamK actin-ancestors prepared for eukaryote intracellular motility, mitosis, cytokinesis, and phagocytosis. We refute numerous wrong ideas about the universal tree.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ema E-Yung Chao
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
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5
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Jiang YY, Maier W, Baumeister R, Minevich G, Joachimiak E, Ruan Z, Kannan N, Clarke D, Frankel J, Gaertig J. The Hippo Pathway Maintains the Equatorial Division Plane in the Ciliate Tetrahymena. Genetics 2017; 206:873-888. [PMID: 28413159 PMCID: PMC5499192 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.117.200766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms that govern pattern formation within the cell are poorly understood. Ciliates carry on their surface an elaborate pattern of cortical organelles that are arranged along the anteroposterior and circumferential axes by largely unknown mechanisms. Ciliates divide by tandem duplication: the cortex of the predivision cell is remodeled into two similarly sized and complete daughters. In the conditional cdaI-1 mutant of Tetrahymena thermophila, the division plane migrates from its initially correct equatorial position toward the cell's anterior, resulting in unequal cell division, and defects in nuclear divisions and cytokinesis. We used comparative whole genome sequencing to identify the cause of cdaI-1 as a mutation in a Hippo/Mst kinase. CdaI is a cortical protein with a cell cycle-dependent, highly polarized localization. Early in cell division, CdaI marks the anterior half of the cell, and later concentrates at the posterior end of the emerging anterior daughter. Despite the strong association of CdaI with the new posterior cell end, the cdaI-1 mutation does not affect the patterning of the new posterior cortical organelles. We conclude that, in Tetrahymena, the Hippo pathway maintains an equatorial position of the fission zone, and, by this activity, specifies the relative dimensions of the anterior and posterior daughter cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Yang Jiang
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
| | - Wolfgang Maier
- Bio3/Bioinformatics and Molecular Genetics (Faculty of Biology) and ZMBZ (Faculty of Medicine)
| | - Ralf Baumeister
- Bio3/Bioinformatics and Molecular Genetics (Faculty of Biology) and ZMBZ (Faculty of Medicine)
- Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, 79104 Germany
| | - Gregory Minevich
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032
| | - Ewa Joachimiak
- Laboratory of Cytoskeleton and Cilia Biology, Department of Cell Biology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Zheng Ruan
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
| | - Natarajan Kannan
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
| | - Diamond Clarke
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
| | - Joseph Frankel
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
| | - Jacek Gaertig
- Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
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6
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Frankel J, Buhse HE. In Memoriam: Norman E. Williams (1928-2016): Pioneer of Ciliate Architecture. J Eukaryot Microbiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/jeu.12395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Frankel
- Department of Biology; The University of Iowa; Iowa City Iowa 52242
| | - Howard E. Buhse
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Illinois at Chicago; Chicago Illinois 60607
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Martin CL, Singh SM. Identification, modeling, and characterization studies of Tetrahymena thermophila myosin FERM domains suggests a conserved core fold but functional differences. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2015; 72:585-96. [PMID: 26492945 DOI: 10.1002/cm.21261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2014] [Revised: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Myosins (MYO) define a superfamily of motor proteins which facilitate movement along cytoskeletal actin filaments in an ATP-dependent manner. To date, over 30 classes of myosin have been defined that vary in their roles and distribution across different taxa. The multidomain tail of myosin is responsible for the observed functional differences in different myosin classes facilitating differential binding to different cargos. One domain found in this region, the FERM domain, is found in several diverse proteins and is involved in many biological functions ranging from cell adhesion and actin-driven cytoskeleton assembly to cell signaling. Recently, new classes of unconventional myosin have been identified in Tetrahymena thermophila. In this study, we have identified, modeled, and characterized eight FERM domains from the unconventional T. thermophila myosins as their complete functional MyTH4-FERM cassettes. Our results reveal notable sequence, structural, and electrostatic differences between T. thermophila and other characterized FERM domains. Specifically, T. thermophila FERM domains contain helical inserts or extensions, which contribute to significant differences in surface electrostatic profiles of T. thermophila myosin FERMs when compared to the conventional FERM domains. Analyses of the modeled domains reveal differences in key functional residues as well as phosphoinositide-binding signatures and affinities. The work presented here broadens the scope of our understanding of myosin classes and their inherent functions, and provides a platform for experimentalists to design rational experimental studies to test the functional roles for T. thermophila myosins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Che L Martin
- Biology Department, the Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, 10016
| | - Shaneen M Singh
- Biology Department, the Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, 10016.,Department of Biology, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn, New York, 11210, USA
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8
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Shimizu Y, Kushida Y, Kiriyama S, Nakano K, Numata O. Formation and ingression of division furrow can progress under the inhibitory condition of actin polymerization in ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis. Zoolog Sci 2014; 30:1044-9. [PMID: 24328456 DOI: 10.2108/zsj.30.1044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In eukaryotic cells that multiply by binary fission, the interaction of actin filaments with myosin II in the contractile ring is widely recognized to generate force for membrane ingression into the cleavage furrow; however, the expression of myosin II is restricted in animals, yeast, fungi, and amoeba (collectively, unikonts). No corresponding motor protein capable of forming mini-filaments that could exert sufficient tension to cleave the cell body is found in bikonts, consisting of planta, algae, and most protozoa; however, cells in some bikont lineages multiply by binary fission, as do animal cells. Of these, the ciliate Tetrahymena is known to form an actin ring beneath the division furrow in cytokinesis. Here, we investigated the role of filamentous actin in the cytokinesis of Tetrahymena pyriformis by treating synchronized dividing cells with an actin-inhibiting drug, Latrunculin-A. Video microscopic observation of live cells undergoing cytokinesis was performed, and contrary to expectation, we found that initiation of furrow ingression and its progress are not suppressed under the inhibitory condition of actin polymerization in Tetrahymena cells. We suggest that an actin filament-independent mechanism of binary fission may have been acquired during the evolution in this organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhta Shimizu
- Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan
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ADF/cofilin is not essential but is critically important for actin activities during phagocytosis in Tetrahymena thermophila. EUKARYOTIC CELL 2013; 12:1080-6. [PMID: 23729382 DOI: 10.1128/ec.00074-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
ADF/cofilin is a highly conserved actin-modulating protein. Reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in vivo through severing and depolymerizing of F-actin by this protein is essential for various cellular events, such as endocytosis, phagocytosis, cytokinesis, and cell migration. We show that in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, the ADF/cofilin homologue Adf73p associates with actin on nascent food vacuoles. Overexpression of Adf73p disrupted the proper localization of actin and inhibited the formation of food vacuoles. In vitro, recombinant Adf73p promoted the depolymerization of filaments made of T. thermophila actin (Act1p). Knockout cells lacking the ADF73 gene are viable but grow extremely slowly and have a severely decreased rate of food vacuole formation. Knockout cells have abnormal aggregates of actin in the cytoplasm. Surprisingly, unlike the case in animals and yeasts, in Tetrahymena, ADF/cofilin is not required for cytokinesis. Thus, the Tetrahymena model shows promise for future studies of the role of ADF/cofilin in vivo.
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Abstract
We live on a microbial planet. Microorganisms dominate in terms of numbers of lineages, numbers of organisms, biomass and evolutionary innovations. Yet much remains to be learned about our microbial neighbours. We have gotten to know a few species that have been transformed into 'laboratory rats' (i.e. model organisms), but even here our understanding of the natural history of these lineages remains inadequate as there are few data from populations living in natural habitats. Zufall et al. (2013) move beyond this trend by providing insights into the natural history of Tetrahymena thermophila, a ciliate that has been used in many studies of cellular and molecular biology. Characterization of T. thermophila sampled from numerous ponds across this ciliate's range in Eastern North America reveals the following: (i) considerable differentiation among isolates, with the greatest diversity among lineages in New England, and (ii) a relatively small effective population size for this model ciliate. Such population data are fundamental for inferences about the origins of the numerous remarkable features of T. thermophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A Katz
- Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA.
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Abstract
Myosin-X (Myo10) is an unconventional myosin with MyTH4-FERM domains that is best known for its striking localization to the tips of filopodia and its ability to induce filopodia. Although the head domain of Myo10 enables it to function as an actin-based motor, its tail contains binding sites for several molecules with central roles in cell biology, including phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate, microtubules and integrins. Myo10 also undergoes fascinating long-range movements within filopodia, which appear to represent a newly recognized system of transport. Myo10 is also unusual in that it is a myosin with important roles in the spindle, a microtubule-based structure. Exciting new studies have begun to reveal the structure and single-molecule properties of this intriguing myosin, as well as its mechanisms of regulation and induction of filopodia. At the cellular and organismal level, growing evidence demonstrates that Myo10 has crucial functions in numerous processes ranging from invadopodia formation to cell migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael L Kerber
- Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7545, USA
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Purification of Tetrahymena cytoskeletal proteins. Methods Cell Biol 2012. [PMID: 22444153 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-385967-9.00014-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
Like all eukaryotic cells, Tetrahymena thermophila contains a rich array of cytoskeletal proteins, some familiar and some novel. A detailed analysis of the structure, function, and interactions of these proteins requires procedures for purifying the individual protein components. Procedures for the purification of actin and tubulin from Tetrahymena are reviewed, followed by a description of a procedure that yields proteins from the epiplasmic layer and associated structures, including the tetrins. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for future advances are assessed.
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Wloga D, Frankel J. From Molecules to Morphology: Cellular Organization of Tetrahymena thermophila. Methods Cell Biol 2012; 109:83-140. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-385967-9.00005-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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Conservation and innovation in Tetrahymena membrane traffic: proteins, lipids, and compartments. Methods Cell Biol 2012; 109:141-75. [PMID: 22444145 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-385967-9.00006-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The past decade has seen a significant expansion in our understanding of membrane traffic in Tetrahymena thermophila, facilitated by the development of new experimental tools and by the availability of the macronuclear genome sequence. Here we review studies on multiple pathways of uptake and secretion, as well as work on metabolism of membrane lipids. We discuss evidence for conservation versus innovation in the mechanisms used in ciliates compared with those in other eukaryotic lineages, and raise the possibility that existing gene expression databases can be exploited to analyze specific pathways of membrane traffic in these cells.
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