Skip to main content
Book cover

Plastids pp 37–54Cite as

Complex Endosymbioses II: The Nonphotosynthetic Plastid of Apicomplexa Parasites (The Apicoplast) and Its Integrated Metabolism

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 1829)

Abstract

Chloroplasts are essential organelles that are responsible for photosynthesis in a wide range of organisms that have colonized all biotopes on Earth such as plants and unicellular algae. Interestingly, a secondary endosymbiotic event of a red algal ancestor gave rise to a group of organisms that have adopted an obligate parasitic lifestyle named Apicomplexa parasites. Apicomplexa parasites are some of the most widespread and poorly controlled pathogens in the world. These infectious agents are responsible for major human diseases such as toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, and malaria caused by Plasmodium spp. Most of these parasites harbor this relict plastid named the apicoplast, which is essential for parasite survival. The apicoplast has lost photosynthetic capacities but are metabolically similar to plant and algal chloroplasts. The apicoplast is considered a novel and important drug target against Apicomplexa parasites. This chapter focuses on the apicoplast of apicomplexa parasites, its maintenance, and its metabolic pathways.

Key words

  • Secondary endosymbiosis
  • Apicomplexa
  • Malaria
  • Toxoplasmosis
  • Apicoplast

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Protocol
USD   49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-8654-5_3
  • Chapter length: 18 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-1-4939-8654-5
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Springer Nature is developing a new tool to find and evaluate Protocols. Learn more

References

  1. Botté CY, Dubar F, McFadden GI et al (2012) Plasmodium falciparum Apicoplast drugs: targets or off-targets? Chem Rev 112(3):1269–1283

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Köhler S, Delwiche CF, Denny PW et al (1997) A plastid of probable green algal origin in apicomplexan parasites. Science 275:1485–1488

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. McFadden GI, Reith M, Munholland J et al (1996) Plastid in human parasites. Nature 381:482

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Wilson RJM, Denny PW, Preiser PR et al (1996) Complete gene map of the plastid-like DNA of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. J Mol Biol 261:155–172

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Janouskovec J, Horak A, Obornik M et al (2010) A common red algal origin of the apicomplexan, dinoflagellate, and heterokont plastids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107(24):10949–10954

    CrossRef  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhu G, Marchewka MJ, Keithly JS (2000) Cryptosporidium parvum appears to lack a plastid genome. Microbiol 146:315–321

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fichera ME, Roos DS (1997) A plastid organelle as a drug target in apicomplexan parasites. Nature 390(6658):407–409

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. He CY, Shaw MK, Pletcher CH et al (2001) A plastid segregation defect in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. EMBO J 20(3):330–339

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Botte CY, Yamaryo-Botte Y, Rupasinghe TW et al (2013) Atypical lipid composition in the purified relict plastid (apicoplast) of malaria parasites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110(18):7506–7511

    CrossRef  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Ralph SA, van Dooren GG, Waller RF et al (2004) Metabolic maps and functions of the Plasmodium falciparum apicoplast. Nat Rev Microbiol 2(3):203–216

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Gould SB, Waller RF, McFadden GI (2008) Plastid evolution. Annu Rev Plant Biol 59:491–517

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Tawk L, Dubremetz JF, Montcourrier P et al (2011) Phosphatidylinositol 3-monophosphate is involved in toxoplasma apicoplast biogenesis. PLoS Pathog 7(2):e1001286

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. van Dooren GG, Kennedy AT, McFadden GI (2012) The use and abuse of heme in apicomplexan parasites. Antioxid Redox Signal 17(4):634–656

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Nagaraj VA, Sundaram B, Varadarajan ND et al (2013) Malaria parasite-synthesized heme is essential in the mosquito and liver stages and complements host heme in the blood stages of infection. PLoS Pathog 9(8):e1003522

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Balk J, Pilon M (2011) Ancient and essential: the assembly of iron-sulfur clusters in plants. Trends Plant Sci 16(4):218–226

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Haussig JM, Matuschewski K, Kooij TW (2013) Experimental genetics of NFU in the Apicoplast iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis pathway. PLoS One 8(6):e67269

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Yeh E, DeRisi JL (2011) Chemical rescue of malaria parasites lacking an apicoplast defines organelle function in blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum. PLoS Biol 9(8):e1001138

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Suazo KF, Schaber C, Palsuledesai CC et al (2016) Global proteomic analysis of prenylated proteins in Plasmodium falciparum using an alkyne-modified isoprenoid analogue. Sci Rep 6:38615

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Gisselberg JE, Zhang L, Elias JE et al (2017) The prenylated proteome of Plasmodium falciparum reveals pathogen-specific prenylation activity and drug mechanism-of-action. Mol Cell Proteomics 16(4 suppl 1):S54–S64

    CrossRef  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. MacRae JI, Marechal E, Biot C et al (2012) The apicoplast: a key target to cure malaria. Curr Pharm Des 18(24):3490–3504

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Amiar S, MacRae JI, Callahan DL et al (2016) Apicoplast-localized lysophosphatidic acid precursor assembly is required for bulk phospholipid synthesis in Toxoplasma gondii and relies on an algal/plant-like glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase. PLoS Pathog 12(8):e1005765. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005765

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Shears MJ, MacRae JI, Mollard V et al (2017) Characterization of the Plasmodium falciparum and P. berghei glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase involved in FASII fatty acid utilization in the malaria parasite apicoplast. Cell Microbiol 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/cmi.12633

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Yu M, Kumar TR, Nkrumah LJ et al (2008) The fatty acid biosynthesis enzyme FabI plays a key role in the development of liver-stage malarial parasites. Cell Host Microbe 4(6):567–578

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Vaughan AM, O’Neill MT, Tarun AS et al (2009) Type II fatty acid synthesis is essential only for malaria parasite late liver stage development. Cell Microbiol 11(3):506–520

    CrossRef  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Lindner SE, Sartain MJ, Hayes K et al (2014) Enzymes involved in plastid-targeted phosphatidic acid synthesis are essential for Plasmodium yoelii liver-stage development. Mol Microbiol 91(4):679–693. https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.12485

    CrossRef  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

CYB is a CNRS Research fellow and is supported by Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR-12-PDOC-0028) and ATIP-Avenir-FINOVI (CNRS, INSERM, FINOVI, Project ApicoLipid). YYB is a University of Grenoble-FINOVI Research Fellow (ApicoLipid project). CYB and YYB are supported by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (LABEX PARAFRAP ANR-11-LABX-0024).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ApicoLipid Team, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, UMR5309, U1209, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France

    Cyrille Y. Botté & Yoshiki Yamaryo-Botté

Authors
  1. Cyrille Y. Botté
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yoshiki Yamaryo-Botté
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yoshiki Yamaryo-Botté .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire et Végétale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, CEA Grenoble, Institut National Recherche Agronomique, UMR5168, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France

    Eric Maréchal

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this protocol

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this protocol

Botté, C.Y., Yamaryo-Botté, Y. (2018). Complex Endosymbioses II: The Nonphotosynthetic Plastid of Apicomplexa Parasites (The Apicoplast) and Its Integrated Metabolism. In: Maréchal, E. (eds) Plastids. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1829. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8654-5_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8654-5_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8653-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8654-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols