Microtubules of Toxoplasma gondii contain C- terminal methylated alpha- and beta-tubulins

摘要

Overall, alpha-tubulin had significantly more PTMs than beta-tubulin. The PTMs identified included acetylation of Lys40, detyrosination and tyrosination cycle of the last C-terminal amino acid residue Y453, truncation of the last two and five amino acid residues, and polyglutamylation. In addition, methylation was a new novel PTM found on T. gondii tubulins. Of the identified PTMs, only polyglutamylation and methylation were shared between alpha- and beta-tubulins. Some modified tubulins were found intensively in the conoid region, e.g. methylation and DELTA2 tubulin, and others, e.g. detyrosinated-tubulin, accumulated more in basal region. The combination of antibody and mass spectrometry provides a powerful tool in the study of posttranslational modifications.