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Updated: Dec 27, 2025

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Published on: June 22, 2017
A MORC-driven transcriptional switch controls Toxoplasma developmental trajectories and sexual commitment
Dayana C Farhat1, Christopher Swale1, Céline Dard1
1Institute for Advanced Biosciences (IAB), Team Host-Pathogen Interactions and Immunity to Infection, INSERM U1209, CNRS UMR5309, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.
Toxoplasma gondii microrchidia (MORC) protein represses sexual development. Depleting MORC in T. gondii activates sexual differentiation genes, aiding in studying parasite sexual stages without cats.
Area of Science:
- Parasitology
- Epigenetics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Toxoplasma gondii exhibits complex asexual and sexual life cycles, with sexual reproduction occurring exclusively in felids.
- Epigenetic regulation, including histone modifications, governs stage-specific gene expression during T. gondii development.
- Understanding the mechanisms controlling sexual commitment is crucial for deciphering the parasite's full life cycle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key regulators of sexual commitment in Toxoplasma gondii.
- To investigate the role of the microrchidia (MORC) protein in controlling parasite sexual development.
- To establish a method for studying T. gondii sexual development in vitro.
Main Methods:
- Identification and characterization of the T. gondii MORC protein.
- Analysis of MORC complex formation with AP2 transcription factors and HDAC3 recruitment.
- Assessment of chromatin accessibility at sexual stage-specific genes.
- Transcriptional profiling of MORC-depleted T. gondii strains.
Main Results:
- MORC acts as an upstream transcriptional repressor of sexual commitment in T. gondii.
- MORC, in complex with AP2 factors, recruits HDAC3 to repress sexual stage genes.
- MORC depletion leads to significant transcriptional changes, promoting sexual differentiation.
- MORC regulates hierarchical expression of secondary AP2 transcription factors, ensuring life cycle unidirectionality.
Conclusions:
- MORC is a master regulator essential for controlling the switch between asexual and sexual development in T. gondii.
- Conditional depletion of MORC provides a novel in vitro system to study parasite sexual development, bypassing the need for feline hosts.
- This research offers insights into epigenetic control of developmental transitions in apicomplexan parasites.
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