A novel dynamin-related protein has been recruited for apicoplast fission in Toxoplasma gondii.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Apicomplexan parasites cause numerous important human diseases, including malaria and toxoplasmosis. Apicomplexa belong to the Alveolata, a group that also includes ciliates and dinoflagellates. Apicomplexa retain a plastid organelle (the apicoplast) that was derived from an endosymbiotic relationship between the alveolate ancestor and a red alga. Apicoplasts are essential for parasite growth and must correctly divide and segregate into daughter cells upon cytokinesis. Apicoplast division depends on association with the mitotic spindle, although little is known about the molecular machinery involved in this process. Apicoplasts lack the conserved machinery that divides chloroplasts in plants and red algae, suggesting that these mechanisms are unique.

Results

Here,

SUBMITTER: van Dooren GG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3941992 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature