The Toxoplasma glucan phosphatase TgLaforin utilizes a distinct functional mechanism that can be exploited by therapeutic inhibitors

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that generates amylopectin granules (AGs), a polysaccharide associated with bradyzoites that define chronic T. gondii infection. AGs are postulated to act as an essential energy storage molecule that enable bradyzoite persistence, transmission, and reactivation. Importantly, reactivation can result in the life-threatening symptoms of toxoplasmosis. T. gondii encodes glucan dikinase and glucan phosphatase enzymes that are homologous to the plant and animal enzymes involved in reversible glucan phosphorylation and which are required for efficient polysaccharide degradation and utilization. However, the structural determinants that regulate reversible glucan phosphorylation in T. gondii are unclear. Herein, we define key functional aspects of the T. gondii glucan phosphatase TgLaforin (TGME49_205290). We demonstrate that TgLaforin possesses an atypical split carbohydrate-binding-module domain. AlphaFold2 modeling combined with hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and differential scanning fluorimetry also demonstrate the unique structural dynamics of TgLaforin with regard to glucan binding. Moreover, we show that TgLaforin forms a dual specificity phosphatase domain–mediated dimer. Finally, the distinct properties of the glucan phosphatase catalytic domain were exploited to identify a small molecule inhibitor of TgLaforin catalytic activity. Together, these studies define a distinct mechanism of TgLaforin activity, opening up a new avenue of T. gondii bradyzoite biology as a therapeutic target.