Toxoplasma gondii apicoplast-resident ferredoxin is an essential electron transfer protein for the MEP isoprenoid-biosynthetic pathway.

ABSTRACT: Apicomplexan parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii, are unusual in that each cell contains a single apicoplast, a plastid-like organelle that compartmentalizes enzymes involved in the essential 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis. The last two enzymatic steps in this organellar pathway require electrons from a redox carrier. However, the small iron-sulfur cluster-containing protein ferredoxin, a likely candidate for this function, has not been investigated in this context. We show here that inducible knockdown of T. gondii ferredoxin results in progressive inhibition of growth and eventual parasite death. Surprisingly, this phenotype is not accompanied by ultrastructural changes in the apicoplast or overall cell morphology. The knockdown of ferredoxin was i

SUBMITTER: Henkel S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8717598 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature