bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/099267; this version posted March 14, 2017. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Stability and function of a putative microtubule organizing center in the human parasite Toxoplasma gondii Jacqueline M. Leung1, Yudou He1, Fangliang Zhang2, Yu-Chen Hwang3, Eiji Nagayasu4, Jun Liu1, John M. Murray1, Ke Hu1# 1Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA 2Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA 3Nikon Instruments Inc., Melville, New York, 11747, USA 4Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan Running title: Stability of the apical polar ring #: Address correspondence to: Email:
[email protected] 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/099267; this version posted March 14, 2017. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. ABSTRACT The organization of the microtubule cytoskeleton is dictated by microtubule nucleators or organizing centers. Toxoplasma gondii, an important human parasite, has an array of 22 regularly spaced cortical microtubules stemming from a hypothesized organizing center, the apical polar ring. Here, we examine the functions of the apical polar ring by characterizing two of its components, KinesinA and APR1, and discovered that its putative role in templating can be separated from its mechanical stability. Parasites that lack both KinesinA and APR1 (ΔkinesinAΔapr1) are capable of generating 22 cortical microtubules.