Toxoplasma depends on lipids taken from its host cell to expand its vacuole and replicate. In Cell Reports we identify TgSEC14-LTP1, a previously uncharacterized dense granule protein with a divergent SEC14/CRAL-TRIO domain that is secreted into the vacuole lumen and is essential for replication.
TgSEC14-LTP1 binds phosphatidylcholine and diacylglycerol and is required for the flux of both lipids from host to parasite. Without it the parasite’s phosphatidylcholine and diacylglycerol pools shrink, bulk phosphatidylcholine synthesis and parasite biogenesis are disrupted, egress is delayed, and growth suffers.
Read the paper: TgSEC14-LTP1 is a vacuole-secreted SEC14/CRAL-TRIO-like protein required for host DAG flux and PC homeostasis in T. gondii. Cell Rep 2026.