posted on 2020-07-24, 14:02authored byMalgorzata Broncel, Caia Dominicus, Luis Vigetti, Stephanie D Nofal, Edward J Bartlett, Bastien Touquet, Alex Hunt, Bethan A Wallbank, Stefania Federico, Stephen Matthews, Joanna C Young, Edward W Tate, Isabelle Tardieux, Moritz Treeck
N-myristoylation is a ubiquitous class of protein lipidation across eukaryotes and N-myristoyl transferase (NMT) has been proposed as an attractive drug target in several pathogens. Myristoylation often primes for subsequent palmitoylation and stable membrane attachment, however, growing evidence suggests additional regulatory roles for myristoylation on proteins. Here we describe the myristoylated proteome of Toxoplasma gondii using chemoproteomic methods and show that a small-molecule NMT inhibitor developed against related Plasmodium spp. is also functional in Toxoplasma. We identify myristoylation on a transmembrane protein, the microneme protein 7 (MIC7), which enters the secretory pathway in an unconventional fashion with the myristoylated N-terminus facing the lumen of the micronemes. MIC7 and its myristoylation play a crucial role in the initial steps of invasion, likely during the interaction with and penetration of the host cell. Myristoylation of secreted eukaryotic proteins represents a substantial expansion of the functional repertoire of this co-translational modification.
Funding
Crick (Grant ID: 10189, Grant title: Treeck FC001189)
Crick (Grant ID: 10013, Grant title: O'Reilly FC001999)