FIG 2 .

Binding of lectins to the cyst wall of ppGalNAc-T-knockout strains. Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) infected with wild-type and ppGalNAc-T deletion mutant T. gondii were cultured in pH 8.1 medium, facilitating the formation of in vitro cysts. Infected HFF cells were stained with jacalin (red, upper row), VVA (red, middle row), or HPA (red, bottom row) as well as the green fluorescent protein (green) driven by bradyzoite-specific promoter LDH2 and DAPI (blue). The Δt2 parasite lacks jacalin, VVA, and HPA cyst wall staining, while the Δt3 parasite lacks jacalin staining only. This suggests that the various lectin-binding glycoproteins on the cyst wall are posttranslationally modified by ppGalNAc-T2 and -T3 glycosyltransferases.