Pilotní analýza kalcium-dependentních proteinkináz prvoka \kur{Babesia divergens}

Tereza KŘEČKOVÁ

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

Babesia divergens is a parasite of the Apicomplexa that causes bovine and human babesiosis primarily in Europe. The ability of B. divergens to parasitize inside the host red blood cells is governed by the Ca2+ signaling pathway employing various molecules including an array of Ca2+ -dependent protein kinases (CDPKs). These enzymes are orchestrating essential developmental processes of Apicomplexa parasites, and since they are absent in their animal host, they possess a great potential for therapeutic interventions. Despite CDPKs' vital and promising role, Babesia CDPKs remain uncharacterized, and their potential regulatory roles in host-cell invasion and intracellular parasitism are thus not known. This thesis is aimed at the pilot analysis of four putative B. divergens-specific CDPKs: Bdiv_014540c, Bdiv_024410, Bdiv_030560 and Bdiv_035940c. We amplified and sequenced full genomic and coding sequences of putative BdCDPKs and inserted their coding sequences into a standard vector. Using BdCDPKs protein sequences we analyzed the architecture of the individual enzyme to confirm the presence of key CDPKs domains (Ser-Thr kinase domain and EF-hands) and constructed a phylogenetic tree to confirm the clustering of putative BdCDPKs with analogous enzymes of other Apicomplexa and their relatives. Overall, the pilot analysis of BdCDPKs presented in this thesis provides important background for further functional and biochemical analyses of these yet uncharacterized but highly important B. divergens enzymes.

Keywords

Babesia divergens, kalcium-dependentní proteinkinázy, CDPKs

Language used: Czech

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 13. 4. 2022

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: RNDr. Marie Jalovecká, Ph.D.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BOHEMIA IN ČESKÉ BUDĚJOVICE

Faculty of Science

Bachelor programme / field:
Biology / Biology