Identification of Toxoplasma TgPH1, a pleckstrin homology domain-containing protein that binds to the phosphoinositide PI(3,5)P2

The phosphoinositide phosphatidylinositol-3,5-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2) plays crucial roles in the maintenance of lysosome/vacuole morphology, membrane trafficking and regulation of endolysosome-localized membrane channel activity. In Toxoplasma gondii, we previously reported that PI(3,5)P2 is essential for parasite survival by controlling homeostasis of the apicoplast, a particular organelle of algal origin. Here, by using a phosphoinositide pull-down assay, we identified TgPH1 in Toxoplasma a protein conserved in many apicomplexan parasites. TgPH1 binds specifically to PI(3,5)P2, shows punctate intracellular localization, but plays no vital role for tachyzoite growth in vitro. TgPH1 is a protein predominantly formed by a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. So far, PH domains have been described to bind preferentially to bis- or trisphosphate phosphoinositides containing two adjacent phosphates (i.e. PI(3,4)P2, PI(4,5)P2, PI(3,4,5)P3). Therefore, our study reveals an unusual feature of TgPH1 which binds preferentially to PI(3,5)P2.