Importance of polyphosphate in the Leishmania life cycle.

ABSTRACT: Protozoan parasites contain negatively charged polymers of a few up to several hundreds of phosphate residues. In other organisms, these poly-phosphate (polyP) chains serve as an energy source and phosphate reservoir, and have been implicated in adaptation to stress and virulence of pathogenic organisms. In this study, we confirmed first that the polyP polymerase vacuolar transporter chaperone 4 (VTC4) is responsible for polyP synthesis in Leishmania parasites. During Leishmaniain vitro culture, polyP is accumulated in logarithmic growth phase and subsequently consumed once stationary phase is reached. However, polyP is not essential since VTC4-deficient (vtc4^- ) Leishmania proliferated normally in culture and differentiated into infecti

SUBMITTER: Kohl K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6116282 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature