{
  "abstract": "Babesiosis is an increasingly recognized tick-borne zoonosis. The asexual blood stage of its causative agent, Babesia, drives pathological damages in the host and can cause severe or fatal human infections. Nevertheless, the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that control this developmental stage remain poorly characterized. Here, we identified a novel ApiAP2 transcription factor (AP2-P; pathogenesis), which is essential in the blood-stage development of B. gibsoni. Nuclear import of AP2-P is inhibited by ivermectin, which is likely mediated via the IMPα/β pathway. Importantly, AP2-P forms a SAGA-like complex with the histone acetyltransferase GCN5 and a novel AP2-P related protein 1 (ARP1). Conditional knockdown of ARP1 or GCN5 results in reduced parasite growth rates accompanied by alterations in expression profiles and chromatin accessibility of pathogenesis-related genes. ChIP-seq data indicate that the complex associates with both euchromatic regions marked by H3K9ac and heterochromatic regions marked by H3K9me3, and it also targets many pathogenic genes by recognizing specific DNA motif, including those involved in invasion, antigenic variation, drug resistance, and sexual-stage development. Notably, normal genomic distribution pattern of AP2-P likewise depends on ARP1 or GCN5. Collectively, our study suggests a SAGA-like epigenetic module responsible for pathogenesis of Babesia gibsoni during asexual blood stage.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China.",
    "Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China.",
    "National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China. helan@mail.hzau.edu.cn.",
    "Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China. helan@mail.hzau.edu.cn.",
    "Hubei Jiangxia Laboratory, Wuhan, Hubei, 430200, China. helan@mail.hzau.edu.cn.",
    "Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Veterinary Epidemiology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China. helan@mail.hzau.edu.cn.",
    "National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China. zhaojunlong@mail.hzau.edu.cn.",
    "Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China. zhaojunlong@mail.hzau.edu.cn.",
    "Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Veterinary Epidemiology, Wuhan, Hubei, 430070, China. zhaojunlong@mail.hzau.edu.cn."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zhen Han"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yaxin Zheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wei Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wanxin Luo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Chenglong Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jianyu Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Fangwei Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Lan He",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5453-4425"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Junlong Zhao",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5162-4495"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cfy9ssg9m7pe1.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-78127-2",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13720069",
  "id": "cfy9ssg9m7pe1",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957733",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214751187",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13720069?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13720069",
  "pmid": "42957733",
  "published": "2026-09-29",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cfy9ssg9m7pe1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:21:29Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42957733",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42957733"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T12:23:55Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13720069",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78127-2"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2405|Vector-borne infectious diseases",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A SAGA-like AP2-P-ARP1-GCN5 transcriptional complex targets pathogenesis-associated genes during the blood-stage development of Babesia gibsoni.",
  "title_text": "A SAGA-like AP2-P-ARP1-GCN5 transcriptional complex targets pathogenesis-associated genes during the blood-stage development of Babesia gibsoni.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-03T12:21:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cfy9ssg9m7pe1",
  "venue": "Nature communications",
  "versions": []
}