Metabolic plasticity, essentiality and therapeutic potential of ribose-5-phosphate synthesis in Toxoplasma gondii.

ABSTRACT: Ribose-5-phosphate (R5P) is a precursor for nucleic acid biogenesis; however, the importance and homeostasis of R5P in the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii remain enigmatic. Here, we show that the cytoplasmic sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (SBPase) is dispensable. Still, its co-deletion with transaldolase (TAL) impairs the double mutant's growth and increases ¹³C-glucose-derived flux into pentose sugars via the transketolase (TKT) enzyme. Deletion of the latter protein affects the parasite's fitness but is not lethal and is correlated with an increased carbon flux via the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. Further, loss of TKT leads to a decline in ¹³C incorporation into glycolysis and the TCA cycle, resulting in a decrease in ATP levels and the inability

SUBMITTER: Guo X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11001932 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature