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What do human parasites with a chloroplast anyway?
Author(s) -
Striepen Boris
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.207.3
Subject(s) - apicoplast , plastid , biology , malaria , endosymbiosis , apicomplexa , genome , toxoplasma gondii , computational biology , plasmodium (life cycle) , organelle , organism , chloroplast , parasite hosting , evolutionary biology , plasmodium falciparum , gene , genetics , immunology , world wide web , computer science , antibody
Apicomplexan parasites are a major threat to human health causing malaria and a variety of AIDS associated opportunistic infections. One of the most promising targets for chemotherapeutic intervention for this group of pathogens is the apicoplast. The apicoplast is a unique parasite organelle that was derived from a red algal endosymbiont. Genome analyses suggest that the apicoplast is engaged in a variety of biosynthetic activities that could be targeted for drug development. Using Toxoplasma gondii as a genetic model organism we are dissecting the apicoplast metabolism to identify the most effective choke points. Taking a broader biological view we are interested to understand which of the endosymbiont's functions is most critical and the reason for the continued presence of a plastid long after the loss of photosynthesis. Our current work is focused on the mechanisms and importance of parasite lipid synthesis in particular that of fatty acids and isoprenoids.