The inner membrane complex (IMC) is a peripheral membrane and cytoskeletal system that is organized into intriguing rectangular plates at the periphery of the parasite. The IMC plates are delimited by an array of IMC suture proteins that are tethered to both the membrane and the cytoskeleton and are thought to provide structure to the organelle.
Neospora caninum
is a parasite with veterinary relevance, inducing severe disease in dogs and reproductive disorders in ruminants, especially cattle, leading to major losses. The close phylogenetic relationship to
Toxoplasma gondii
and the lack of pathogenicity in humans drives an interest of the scientific community toward using
N. caninum
as a model to study the pathogenicity of
T. gondii
.
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