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Protein composition of the cytoskeleton of protists
Švagr, Eva ; Hampl, Vladimír (advisor) ; Pánek, Tomáš (referee)
While we have a good understanding of the roles of actin and tubulin filaments in the cell cytoskeleton, intermediate filaments (IFs) are often overlooked. However, the importance of IFs becomes quite apparent, as proteins similar to IF proteins have been identified in many protist cells. This holds particularly for the cells of protists, where even the functions of some members of the of actin and tubulin superfamilies remain unclear. Intermediate filaments are still not well established as components of protist cytoskeletons, in contrast to their more thoroughly studied counterparts in Metazoa. Protist and metazoan IF proteins are dissimilar in their sequence; however, they share similarities in structure, and they assemble autonomously into analogous filaments. IF-like proteins have been localized to striated fibers or unique cytoskeletal components in several organisms, even though not much is known about the protein composition of these striated fibers to date. This suggests that IF-like proteins might be a universally present component of these striated fibers often seen in protist cells. Keywords: Protists, cytoskeleton, microtubules, microfilaments, intermediate filaments, fibrils, protein composition
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