Abstract
Apicomplexan parasites, including major pathogens like Toxoplasma, Plasmodium and Eimeria, contain a vestigial chloroplast named the apicoplast. We report that in T. gondii and P. falciparum lysates, tritiated UDP-galactose is incorporated into monogalactosylcerebrosides (MGCB), and chloroplastic galactolipids, i.e. monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) and possibly digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG). Syntheses of MGCB and MGDG in T. gondii exhibit distinct enzymological features. Additionally, we show that apicoplast proteins have related epitopes with land plant chloroplast envelope proteins. This paper therefore reports the first enzymological and immunological tools to investigate the compositions of apicoplast membranes and introduces new targets for interventions against malaria and toxoplasmosis.
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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Maréchal, E. et al. (2003). Synthesis of Chloroplast Galactolipids in Apicomplexan Parasites (Toxoplasma Gondii and Plasmodium Falciparum). In: Murata, N., Yamada, M., Nishida, I., Okuyama, H., Sekiya, J., Hajime, W. (eds) Advanced Research on Plant Lipids. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0159-4_38
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0159-4_38
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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