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Conditional genome engineering in Toxoplasma gondii uncovers alternative invasion mechanisms

2012; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 10; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/nmeth.2301

1548-7105

Nicole Andenmatten, Saskia Egarter, Allison J. Jackson, Nicolas Jullien, Jean‐Paul Herman, Markus Meissner,

Bacteriophages and microbial interactions

A nonleaky and efficient DiCre-based conditional knockout system enables the study of essential genes in Toxoplasma gondii, revealing that the actin-myosin motor is not required for host invasion by the parasite. We established a conditional site-specific recombination system based on dimerizable Cre recombinase−mediated recombination in the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Using a new single-vector strategy that allows ligand-dependent, efficient removal of a gene of interest, we generated three knockouts of apicomplexan genes considered essential for host-cell invasion. Our findings uncovered the existence of an alternative invasion pathway in apicomplexan parasites.