Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/18522993
J. Cell. Sci. 2008 Jul 1 121 Pt 13 2123-9
General Info
Affiliation
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Malaria II, Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany.Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria, relies on a complex protein-secretion system for protein targeting into numerous subcellular destinations. Recently, a homologue of the Golgi re-assembly stacking protein (GRASP) was identified and used to characterise the Golgi organisation in this parasite. Here, we report on the presence of a splice variant that leads to the expression of a GRASP isoform. Although the first GRASP protein (GRASP1) relies on a well-conserved myristoylation motif, the variant (GRASP2) displays a different N-terminus, similar to GRASPs found in fungi. Phylogenetic analyses between GRASP proteins of numerous taxa point to an independent evolution of the unusual N-terminus that could reflect unique requirements for Golgi-dependent protein sorting and organelle biogenesis in P. falciparum. Golgi association of GRASP2 depends on the hydrophobic N-terminus that resembles a signal anchor, leading to a unique mode of Golgi targeting and membrane attachment.
PMID
18522993
Publication types
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't