A CRISPR/Cas9-Based Screen for Novel Actin Dynamic Factors (360G-Wellcome-207271_Z_17_Z)

The project will focus on understanding critical aspects involved in the biology of the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), an obligate intracellular parasite that can infect every warm-blooded animal including humans. T. gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, is of medical importance for human health as an infection can cause severe damage in the developing foetus and immunocompromised persons. In addition, T. gondii serves a model organism for Plasmodium falciparum, the aetiological agent of malaria. In order to invade the host cell apicomplexan parasites rely on their acto-myosin system. Furthermore, recent research highlights the importance of parasite actin during intracellular parasite development. It is thus important to identify and characterise factors involved in the regulation of actin dynamics. Here, cutting edge molecular tools including conditional CRIPSR/Cas9-systems will be applied to screen a subset of essential genes in T. gondii for novel factors involved in the regulation of actin dynamics. Investigating how the parasites regulate these filaments will give valuable insights into how apicomplexan parasites establish infections in their host.