New insights on the Golgi complex ofTritrichomonas foetus

SUMMARYTritrichomonas foetusis a protist that causes bovine trichomoniasis and presents a well-developed Golgi. There are very few studies concerning the Golgi in trichomonads. In this work, monoclonal antibodies were raised against Golgi ofT. foetusand used as a tool on morphologic and biochemical studies of this organelle. Among the antibodies produced, one was named mAb anti-Golgi 20.3, which recognized specifically the Golgi complex by fluorescence and electron microscopy. By immunoblotting this antibody recognized two proteins with 60 and 66 kDa that were identified as putative beta-tubulin and adenosine triphosphatase, respectively. The mAb 20.3 also recognized the Golgi complex of theTrichomonas vaginalis, a human parasite. In addition, the nucleotide coding sequences of these proteins were identified and included in theT. foetusdatabase, and the 3D structure of the proteins was predicted. In conclusion, this study indicated: (1) adenosine triphosphatase is present in the Golgi, (2) ATPase is conserved betweenT. foetusandT. vaginalis, (3) there is new information concerning the nucleic acid sequences and protein structures of adenosine triphosphatase and beta-tubulin fromT. foetusand (4) the mAb anti-Golgi 20.3 is a good Golgi marker and can be used in future studies.