title: Localization of heme biosynthesis pathway enzymes in Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: Protein trafficking in the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum is dictated by a complex life-cycle that involves a variety of intra-cellular and host cell destinations, such as the mitochondrion, apicoplast, rhoptries and micronemes. Of these, the apicoplast and mitochondrion are believed to account for more than 10% of this traffic. Studies have shown that mechanisms for mitochondrion and apicoplast targeting are distinct, despite their close physical proximity. The heme biosynthesis pathway spans both these organelles, making trafficking studies crucial for the spatial demarcation of the constituent interactions. This minireview highlights the challenges in identifying the possible sub-cellular destinations of the heme pathway enzymes using gleanings from literature survey as well as focussed bioinformatic analysis.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences R&D Division, TCS Innovation Labs Hyderabad, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, 1 Software Units Layout, Madhapur, Hyderabad 500081, India.
authors.forename: Aditya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Sri Jyothsna
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yeleswarapu
authors.forename: Rajgopal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: Gopalakrishnan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bulusu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006418:Heme / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000201:enzymology*; D021381:Protein Transport; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D006418:Heme