Structural characterization of Toxoplasma gondii armadillo repeat only protein and purification of actins from apicomplexan parasites

Atta Samoo from the research group of Inari Kursula at the University of Oulu will defend his Ph.D. on October 6th, 2022. The topic of his thesis is TgARO, a protein that assists in the infection of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii is a unicellular parasite that can infect virtually every cell type of the body, and approximately 30% of world population is estimated to be infected by this parasite. Apart from this, Atta Samoo’s research included the purification of cytoskeletal proteins of both T. gondii and malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.). These parasites belong to the same phylum and use similar mechanisms of motility and host cell invasion, despite different cell specificities and different clinical manifestations of the diseases, toxoplasmosis and malaria. Atta Samoo’s research contributes to the understanding of key proteins involved in the infection of T. gondii and Plasmodium spp. and lays the foundation for future work to fill the gaps of knowledge on the pathogenesis of these organisms.