International Union of Crystallography, Acta Crystallographica Section F: Structural Biology Communications, 9(70), p. 1186-1192, 2014
DOI: 10.1107/s2053230x14017087
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The apicomplexan parasiteToxoplasma gondiimust invade host cells to continue its lifecycle. It invades different cell types using an actomyosin motor that is connected to extracellular adhesinsviathe bridging protein fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. During invasion, aldolase serves in the role of a structural bridging protein, as opposed to its normal enzymatic role in the glycolysis pathway. Crystal structures of the homologousPlasmodium falciparumfructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase have been described previously. Here,T. gondiifructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase has been crystallized in space groupP22121, with the biologically relevant tetramer in the asymmetric unit, and the structure has been determinedviamolecular replacement to a resolution of 2.0 Å. An analysis of the quality of the model and of the differences between the four chains in the asymmetric unit and a comparison between theT. gondiiandP. falciparumaldolase structures is presented.