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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Methods to Investigate the Regulatory Role of Small RNAs and Ribosomal Occupancy of Plasmodium falciparum
Published on: December 4, 2015
Plastids in parasites of humans
1Plant Cell Biology Research Centre, School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Abstract:
It has recently emerged that malarial, toxoplasmodial and related parasites contain a vestigial plastid (the organelle in which photosynthesis occurs in plants and algae). The function of the plastid in these obligate intracellular parasites has not been established. It seems likely that modern apicomplexans derive from photosynthetic predecessors, which perhaps formed associations with protists and invertebrates and abandoned autotrophy in favour of parasitism. Recognition of a third genetic compartment in these parasites proffers alternative strategies for combating a host of important human and animal diseases. It also poses some fascinating questions about the evolutionary biology of this important group of pathogens.
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