A dual-targeted aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase in Plasmodium falciparum charges cytosolic and apicoplast tRNACys

JS Pham; R Sakaguchi; LM Yeoh; NS De Silva; GI Mcfadden; YM Hou; SA Ralph

Journal article

A dual-targeted aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase in Plasmodium falciparum charges cytosolic and apicoplast tRNACys

JS Pham, R Sakaguchi, LM Yeoh, NS De Silva, GI Mcfadden, YM Hou, SA Ralph

Biochemical Journal | PORTLAND PRESS LTD | Published : 2014

DOI: 10.1042/BJ20131451

Abstract

Plasmodium parasites possess two endosymbiotic organelles: a mitochondrion and a relict plastid called the apicoplast. To accommodate the translational requirements of these organelles in addition to its cytosolic translation apparatus, the parasite must maintain a supply of charged tRNA molecules in each of these compartments. In the present study we investigate how the parasite manages these translational requirements for charged tRNACys with only a single gene for CysRS (cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase). We demonstrate that the single Pf CysRS (Plasmodium falciparum CysRS) transcript is alternatively spliced, and, using a combination of endogenous and heterologous tagging experiments in both P...

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Lee Yeoh Author

Geoffrey McFadden Author

Stuart Ralph Author

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Grants

Awarded by National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [grant numbers FT0990350, DP130103236], the Australian NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) [grant numbers 520700, 628704 and 637406 (to S.A.R.)] and an NHMRC program grant (to G.I.M.). J.S.P. and L.M.Y. are supported by Australian Postgraduate Awards. The research stay of J.S.P. with the Hou laboratory at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. was supported by a J.D. Smyth Postgraduate Student Travel Award from The Australian Society for Parasitology.