14-3-3 Negatively Regulates Actin Filament Formation In The Deep Branching Eukaryote Giardia lamblia

The phosphoserine/phosphothreonine-binding protein 14-3-3 is known to regulate actin, this function has been previously attributed to sequestration of phosphorylated cofilin. The deep branching eukaryote Giardia lamblia lacks cofilin and all other canonical actin-binding proteins (ABPs), and 14-3-3 was identified as an actin-associated protein in Giardia, yet its role in actin regulation was unknown. Gl14-3-3 depletion resulted in an overall disruption of actin organization characterized by ectopically distributed short actin filaments. Using phosphatase and kinase inhibitors, we demonstrated that actin phosphorylation correlated with destabilization of the actin network and increased complex formation with 14-3-3, while blocking actin phosphorylation stabilized actin filaments and attenuated complex formation. Giardia9s sole Rho family GTPase, GlRac, modulates Gl14-3-39s association with actin, providing the first connection between GlRac and the actin cytoskeleton in Giardia. Giardia actin contains two putative 14-3-3 binding motifs, one of which (S330) is conserved in mammalian actin. Mutation of these sites reduced, but did not completely disrupt, the association with 14-3-3. Native gels and overlay assays indicate that intermediate proteins are required to support complex formation between 14-3-3 and actin. Overall, our results support a role for 14-3-3 as a negative regulator of actin filament formation.