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article · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025

Cryo-ET reveals the in situ architecture of the polar tube invasion apparatus from microsporidian parasites

Mahrukh Usmani, Nicolas Coudray, Margot Riggi, Rishwanth Raghu, Harshita Ramchandani, Daija Bobe, Mykhailo Kopylov, Ellen D. Zhong, Janet Iwasa, Damian C. Ekiert, Gira Bhabha

Cited by 5Open access

Abstract

Microsporidia are divergent fungal pathogens that employ a unique harpoon-like apparatus called the polar tube (PT) to invade host cells. The long PT is fired out of the microsporidian spore over the course of just a few hundred milliseconds. Once fired, the PT is thought to pierce the plasma membrane of a target cell and act as a conduit for the transfer of the parasite into the host cell, which initiates infection. The PT architecture and its association with neighboring organelles within the parasite cell remain poorly understood. Here, we use cryoelectron tomography to investigate the structural cell biology of the PT in dormant spores from the human-infecting microsporidian species, <i>Encephalitozoon intestinalis</i>. Segmentation and subtomogram averaging of the PT reveal at least four layers: two protein-based layers surrounded by a membrane layer and filled with a dense core. Regularly spaced protein filaments form the structural skeleton of the PT. Combining cryoelectron tomography with cellular modeling, we propose a model for the three-dimensional organization of the polaroplast, an organelle that surrounds the PT and is continuous with the outermost, membranous layer of the PT. Our results reveal the ultrastructure of the microsporidian invasion apparatus in situ, laying the foundation for understanding infection mechanisms.

Cite this paper

APA 7

Usmani, M., Coudray, N., Riggi, M., Raghu, R., Ramchandani, H., Bobe, D., Kopylov, M., Zhong, E. D., Iwasa, J., Ekiert, D. C., & Bhabha, G. (2025). Cryo-ET reveals the in situ architecture of the polar tube invasion apparatus from microsporidian parasites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(11), e2415233122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415233122

MLA 9

Usmani, Mahrukh, et al. “Cryo-ET reveals the in situ architecture of the polar tube invasion apparatus from microsporidian parasites.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 122, no. 11, 2025, p. e2415233122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415233122.

Chicago

Usmani, Mahrukh, Nicolas Coudray, Margot Riggi, Rishwanth Raghu, Harshita Ramchandani, Daija Bobe, Mykhailo Kopylov, et al. 2025. “Cryo-ET reveals the in situ architecture of the polar tube invasion apparatus from microsporidian parasites.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122 (11): e2415233122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415233122.

Harvard

Usmani, M. et al. (2025) ‘Cryo-ET reveals the in situ architecture of the polar tube invasion apparatus from microsporidian parasites’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(11), p. e2415233122. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415233122.

BibTeX
@article{usmani2025cryo,
  title = {{Cryo-ET reveals the in situ architecture of the polar tube invasion apparatus from microsporidian parasites}},
  author = {Usmani, Mahrukh and Coudray, Nicolas and Riggi, Margot and Raghu, Rishwanth and Ramchandani, Harshita and Bobe, Daija and Kopylov, Mykhailo and Zhong, Ellen D. and Iwasa, Janet and Ekiert, Damian C. and Bhabha, Gira},
  journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
  volume = {122},
  number = {11},
  pages = {e2415233122},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1073/pnas.2415233122}
}

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