Project description:This resource comprises a single-cell multi-lineage map of first trimester infected placental cells. We have included data from both uninfected cells and cells infected with three pathogens known to cause maternal and fetal disorders: Plasmodium falciparum, Listeria monocytogenes, and Toxoplasma gondii. We also generated single-nuclei map of infected trophoblasts and their corresponding controls. Furthermore, we created a single-nuclei reference dataset containing information from uninfected primary placental organoids as well as organoids infected with P. falciparum. Additionally, we conducted sequencing at a single-cell level for P. falciparum parasites that were bound to the placenta (pf_b), parasites unbound to the placenta (pf_nb), and parasites that were cultured in vitro (pf_iv).
Project description:We spiked a small number of placental tissue samples with different combinations of Candida albicans, Plasmodium falciparum, Toxoplasma gondii, Human Cytolomega virus and Salmonella bongori (various combination of the equivalents of 1, 10, 100, 1000 and 10000 genome copies). A DNA isolation was performed on these spiked samples and the resulting DNA was subsequently sequenced by MiSeq (18S). These same samples were also analysed by X Ten to allow for a sensitivity comparison of the two methods of the eukaryotic spiked signals (Candida albicans, Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii). In addition, non-spiked placental samples from 50 cases of Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR) (+ matched healthy controls) and 49 cases of Preeclampsia (+ matched healthy controls) and 100 preterm cases were analyzed for their non-human eukaryotic content.
Project description:A striking unusual genome architecture characterizes the two related human parasitic pathogens Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii. A major fraction of the bulk parasite genome is packaged as transcriptionally permissive euchromatin with few loci embedded in silenced heterochromatin. Primary chromatin shapers include histone modifications at the nucleosome lateral surface close to the DNA but their mode of action remains unclear. We identify versatile modifications at Lys31 within the globular domain of histone H4 as key determinants of genome organization and expression in Apicomplexa. H4K31 acetylation promotes a relaxed chromatin state at the promoter of active genes through nucleosome disassembly in both parasites. In contrast, monomethylated H4K31 is enriched in the core body of Toxoplasma active genes but inversely correlates with transcription while being astonishingly enriched at transcriptionally inactive pericentromeric heterochromatin in Plasmodium. This is the first evidence for a methylated residue of H4 associating with transcriptional regulation likely by reducing histone turnover hence slowing RNA polymerase progression across transcribed loci.
Project description:The lytic cycle of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which involves a brief sojourn in the extracellular space, is characterized by defined transcriptional profiles. For an obligate intracellular parasite that is shielded from the cytosolic host immune factors by a parasitophorous vacuole, the brief entry into the extracellular space is likely to exert enormous stress. Due to its role in cellular stress response, we hypothesize that translational control plays an important role in regulating gene expression in Toxoplasma during the lytic cycle. Unlike transcriptional profiles, insights into genome-wide translational profiles of Toxoplasma gondii are lacking. We have performed genome-wide ribosome profiling, coupled with high throughput RNA sequencing, in intracellular and extracellular Toxoplasma gondii parasites to investigate translational control during the lytic cycle. Results: Although differences in transcript abundance were mostly mirrored at the translational level, we observed significant differences in the abundance of ribosome footprints between the two parasite stages. Furthermore, our data suggest that mRNA translation in the parasite is potentially regulated by mRNA secondary structure and upstream open reading frames.
Project description:Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular Apicomplexan parasite capable of invading and surviving within nucleated cells in most warm-blooded animals. This remarkable task is achieved through the delivery of effector proteins from the parasite into the parasitophorous vacuole and host cell cytosol that rewire host cellular pathways, facilitating parasite evasion of the immune system. Here, we have identified a novel export pathway in Toxoplasma that involves cleavage of effector proteins by the Golgi-resident aspartyl protease 5 (ASP5) prior to translocation into the host cell. We demonstrate that ASP5 cleaves a highly constrained amino acid motif that has some similarity to the PEXEL motif of Plasmodium parasites. We show that ASP5 can mature effectors at both the N- and C-terminal ends of proteins and is also required for the trafficking of proteins without this motif. Furthermore, we show that ASP5 controls establishment of the nanotubular network and is required for the efficient recruitment of host mitochondria to the parasitophorous vacuole membrane. Global assessment of host gene expression following infection reveals that ASP5-dependent pathways influence thousands of the transcriptional changes that Toxoplasma imparts on its host cell. This work characterizes the first identified machinery required for export of Toxoplasma effectors into the infected host cell. Three groups of human foreskin fibroblasts are compared. Each group has 3 replicates giving a total of 9 samples. The first group of samples are infected with wild type (GRA16HA) Toxoplasma gondii, the second group with Asp5 knock-out Toxoplasma gondii, and the final group remain uninfected. All fibroblasts are generated from one donor sample.
Project description:ChIP-seq experiments were performed for the putative telomere repeat-binding factor (PfTRF) in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7. The gene encoding this factor (PF3D7_1209300) was endogenously tagged with either a GFP- or a 3xHA-tag and these transgenic parasite lines were used in ChIP-sequencing experiments. Sequencing of the ChIP and input libraries showed enrichment of PfTRF at all telomere-repeat containing chromosome ends (reference genome Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 from PlasmoDB version 6.1) as well as in all upsB var promoters.In addition,PfTRF was enriched at seven additional, intra-chromosomal sites and called in the PfTRF-HA ChIP-seq only. Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 parasites were generated with -GFP or -3xHA C-terminal tagged TRF (PF3D7_1209300). Nuclei were isolated from formaldehyde cross-linked schizont-stage transgenic parasites and used to prepare chromatin. Chromatin immunoprecipitations were performed using mouse anti-GFP (Roche Diagnostics, #11814460001) or rat anti-HA 3F10 (Roche Diagnostics, #12158167001). Sequencing libraries were prepared according to a Plasmodium-optimized library preparation procedure including KAPA polymerase-mediated PCR amplification.
Project description:Recent advances in high throughput sequencing methodologies allow the opportunity to probe in depth the transcriptomes of organisms including N. caninum and Toxoplasma gondii. In this project, we are using Illumina sequencing technology to analyze the transcriptome (RNA-Seq) of experimentally accessible stages (e.g. tachyzoites at different times points) of T. gondii VEG strain. The aim is to make comparative transcriptional landscape maps of Neospora and Toxoplasma at different time points at different life cycle stages and compare levels of expression of orthologous genes in these two organisms.
Project description:To date, total mRNA analysis throughout intraerythrocytic development of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, has only revealed abundance profiles of each gene at a given time. Here, we establish a new methodology in Plasmodium falciparum that enables biosynthetic labeleing and capture of sub-population mRNA. As a proof of principle for this novel method, we examine the mRNA dynamics of early gametocyte commitment.
Project description:Analysis of mRNA-seq reveals difference in gene expression profiles of wild type iBMDM, IRF3-/- iBMDM and IRF7-/- iBMDM infected with ME49, a type II Toxoplasma gondii
2019-03-25 | GSE128752 | GEO
Project description:Altiratinib blocks Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum development by selectively targeting a spliceosome kinase