Protein trafficking to the plastid of Plasmodium falciparum is via the secretory pathway

Abstract

The plastid of Plasmodium falciparum (or 'apicoplast') is the evolutionary homolog of the plant chloroplast and represents a vestige of a photosynthetic past. Apicoplast indispensability indicates that it still provides essential functions to parasites. Similar to plant chloroplasts, the apicoplast is dependent on many nucleus-encoded genes to provide these functions. The apicoplast is surrounded by four membranes, two more than plant chloroplasts. Thus, protein targeting to the apicoplast must overcome additional membrane barriers. In P. falciparum we have analyzed apicoplast targeting using green fluorescent protein (GFP). We demonstrate that protein targeting is at least a two-step proces..