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Background  Metacaspases are multifunctional proteins found in plants, fungi and protozoa, and are involved in processes such as insoluble protein aggregate clearance and cell proliferation. Our previous study demonstrated that metacaspase-1 (MCA1) contributes to parasite apoptosis in  Toxoplasma gondii . Deletion of MCA1 from  T. gondii  has no effect on the growth and virulence of the parasites. Three metacaspases were identified in the ToxoDB  Toxoplasma  Informatics Resource, and the function of metacaspase-2 (MCA2) and metacaspase-3 (MCA3) has not been demonstrated.    Methods  In this study, we constructed MCA1, MCA2 and MCA1/MCA2 transgenic strains from RHΔku80 (Δku80), including overexpressing strains and knockout strains, to clarify the function of MCA1 and MCA2 of  T. gondii .    Results  MCA1 and MCA2 were distributed in the cytoplasm with punctuated aggregation, and part of the punctuated aggregation of MCA1 and MCA2 was localized on the inner membrane complex of  T. gondii . The proliferation of the MCA1/MCA2 double-knockout strain was significantly reduced; however, the two single knockout strains (MCA1 knockout strain and MCA2 knockout strain) exhibited normal growth rates as compared to the parental strain, Δku80. In addition, endodyogeny was impaired in the tachyzoites whose MCA1 and MCA2 were both deleted due to multiple nuclei and abnormal expression of IMC1. We further found that IMC1 of the double-knockout strain was detergent-soluble, indicating that MCA1 and MCA2 are associated with IMC1 maturation. Compared to the parental Δku80 strain, the double-knockout strain was more readily induced from tachyzoites to bradyzoites in vitro. Furthermore, the double-knockout strain was less pathogenic in mice and was able to develop bradyzoites in the brain, which formed cysts and established chronic infection.    Conclusion  MCA1 and MCA2 are important factors which participate in IMC1 maturation and endodyogeny of  T. gondii . The double-knockout strain has slower proliferation and was able to develop bradyzoites both in vitro and in vivo.    Graphic abstractSupplementary Information  The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-021-04878-0.

Requirement of Toxoplasma gondii metacaspases for IMC1 maturation, endodyogeny and virulence in mice