biostudies-literatureSlavic KEuropean Research Council10403https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC4735874biostudies-literatureUnknown7Iron is an essential micronutrient but is also highly toxic. In yeast and plant cells, a key detoxifying mechanism involves iron sequestration into intracellular storage compartments, mediated by members of the vacuolar iron-transporter (VIT) family of proteins. Here we study the VIT homologue from the malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum (PfVIT) and Plasmodium berghei (PbVIT). PfVIT-mediated iron transport in a yeast heterologous expression system is saturable (Km ∼ 14.7 μM), and selective for Fe(2+) over other divalent cations. PbVIT-deficient P. berghei lines (Pbvit(-)) show a reduction in parasite load in both liver and blood stages of infection in mice. Moreover, Pbvit(-) parasites have higher levels of labile iron in blood stages and are more sensitive to increased iron levels in Nature communicationsA vacuolar iron-transporter homologue acts as a detoxifier in Plasmodium.PMC4735874311502Vera ILahree ABouyer GKrishna SHanson KKPittman JKStaines HMMota MMSlavic KfalseA vacuolar iron-transporter homologue acts as a detoxifier in Plasmodium.Iron is an essential micronutrient but is also highly toxic. In yeast and plant cells, a key detoxifying mechanism involves iron sequestration into intracellular storage compartments, mediated by members of the vacuolar iron-transporter (VIT) family of proteins. Here we study the VIT homologue from the malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum (PfVIT) and Plasmodium berghei (PbVIT). PfVIT-mediated iron transport in a yeast heterologous expression system is saturable (Km ∼ 14.7 μM), and selective for Fe(2+) over other divalent cations. PbVIT-deficient P. berghei lines (Pbvit(-)) show a reduction in parasite load in both liver and blood stages of infection in mice. Moreover, Pbvit(-) parasites have higher levels of labile iron in blood stages and are more sensitive to increased iron levels in 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z2016 Jan2025-04-22T19:56:50.197Z2019-03-27T02:08:02ZS-EPMC47358742678606910.1038/ncomms10403