Ciliate Microtubule Diversities: Insights from the EFBTU3 Tubulin in the Antarctic Ciliate Euplotes focardii

Protozoans of the Phylum Ciliophora (ciliates) assemble many diverse microtubular structures in a single cell throughout the life cycle, a feature that made them useful models to study microtubule complexity and the role of tubulin isotypes. In the Antarctic ciliate Euplotes focardii we identified f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microorganisms
Main Authors: Pucciarelli, Sandra, Sparvoli, Daniela, Ballarini, Patrizia, Piersanti, Angela, Mozzicafreddo, Matteo, Arregui, Lucia, Miceli, Cristina
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11581/471076
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10122415
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/12/2415
Description
Summary:Protozoans of the Phylum Ciliophora (ciliates) assemble many diverse microtubular structures in a single cell throughout the life cycle, a feature that made them useful models to study microtubule complexity and the role of tubulin isotypes. In the Antarctic ciliate Euplotes focardii we identified five beta-tubulin isotypes by genome sequencing, named EFBTU1, EFBTU2, EFBTU3, EFBTU4 and EFBTU5. By using polyclonal antibodies directed against EFBTU2/EFBTU1 and EFBTU3, we show that the former isotypes appear to be involved in the formation of all microtubular structures and are particularly abundant in cilia, whereas the latter specifically localizes at the bases of cilia. By RNA interference (RNAi) technology, we silenced the EFBTU3 gene and provided evidence that this isotype has a relevant role in cilia regeneration upon deciliation and in cell division. These results support the long-standing concept that tubulin isotypes possess functional specificity in building diverse microtubular structures.

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