title: The apicoplast.
abstract: Parasites like malaria and Toxoplasma possess a vestigial plastid homologous to the chloroplasts of plants. The plastid (known as the apicoplast) is non-photosynthetic but retains many hallmarks of its ancestry including a circular genome that it synthesises proteins from and a suite of biosynthetic pathways of cyanobacterial origin. In this review, the discovery of the apicoplast and its integration, function and purpose are explored. New insights into the apicoplast fatty acid biosynthesis pathway and some novel roles of the apicoplast in vaccine development are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia. gim@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Geoffrey Ian
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: McFadden
mesh_terms: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007109:Immunity; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D018087:Plastids / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D021381:Protein Transport; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000628:therapy; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D005227:Fatty Acids