The Toxoplasma monocarboxylate transporters are involved in the metabolism within the apicoplast and are linked to parasite survival

Dong, Hui; He, Kai; Yang, Jiong; Zheng, Wen-Bin; Lai, De-Hua; Liu, Jing; Ding, Hui-Yong; Wu, Rui-Bin; M. Brown, Kevin; Hide, Geoff; Lun, Zhao-Rong; Zhu, Xing-Quan; Long, Shaojun

Abstract

The apicoplast is a four-membrane plastid found in the apicomplexans, which harbors biosynthesis and organelle housekeeping activities in the matrix. However, the mechanism driving the flux of metabolites, in and out, remains unknown. Here, we used TurboID and genome engineering to identify apicoplast transporters in Toxoplasma gondii. Among the many novel transporters, we show that one pair of apicomplexan monocarboxylate transporters (AMTs) appears to have evolved from a putative host cell that engulfed a red alga. Protein depletion showed that AMT1 and AMT2 are critical for parasite growth. Metabolite analyses supported the notion that AMT1 and AMT2 are associated with biosynthesis of isoprenoids and fatty acids. However, stronger phenotypic defects were observed for AMT2, including in the inability to establish T. gondii parasite virulence in mice. This study clarifies, significantly, the mystery of apicoplast transporter composition and reveals the importance of the pair of AMTs in maintaining the apicoplast activity in apicomplexans.

Citation

Dong, H., He, K., Yang, J., Zheng, W., Lai, D., Liu, J., …Long, S. (2024). The Toxoplasma monocarboxylate transporters are involved in the metabolism within the apicoplast and are linked to parasite survival. eLife, 12, RP88866. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.88866.3

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 29, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 19, 2024
• Publication Date: Mar 19, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 30, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 2, 2023
• Journal: eLife
• Print ISSN: 2050-084X
• Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Pages: RP88866
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.88866.3
• Keywords: General Immunology and Microbiology, General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, General Medicine, General Neuroscience
• Publisher URL: https://elifesciences.org/