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Malaria, Plasmodium falciparum and its apicoplast
Ming Kalanon1, Geoffrey I McFadden
1School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Biochemical Society Transactions
|May 25, 2010
Summary
Malaria parasites possess a vestigial plastid, a remnant of a photosynthetic ancestor. This essential organelle, a target for new antimalarial drugs, reveals the evolutionary path of these parasites.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Parasitology
- Cell biology
Background:
- Malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites, is a significant global health issue.
- Apicomplexan parasites, including Plasmodium, possess a vestigial plastid, homologous to plant chloroplasts.
- This discovery indicates a photosynthetic ancestry for these parasites, which evolved into animal parasites over 500 million years ago.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the evolutionary origins of the malaria parasite's plastid through endosymbiosis.
- To outline recent findings on how the apicoplast imports nuclear-encoded proteins.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on apicomplexan evolution and plastid biology.
- Analysis of research on protein import mechanisms into the apicoplast.
Main Results:
- The apicomplexan plastid is an essential organelle, crucial for parasite survival.
- The plastid's bacterial-like metabolic pathways are vulnerable to antibacterial compounds and herbicides.
- Protein import into the apicoplast involves specific translocation machineries.
Conclusions:
- The relic plastid is a promising target for novel antimalarial chemotherapy.
- Understanding plastid biology and protein import can lead to new drug development strategies.
- The endosymbiotic origin of the apicoplast provides insights into parasite evolution.
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