The ferredoxin redox system - an essential electron distributing hub in the apicoplast of Apicomplexa.

Ojo-Ajogu Akuh, Rubayet Elahi, Sean T Prigge, Frank Seeber

Journal: Trends in parasitology 2022;38(10):868-881

PMID: 35999149

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Abstract

The apicoplast, a relict plastid found in most species of the phylum Apicomplexa, harbors the ferredoxin redox system which supplies electrons to enzymes of various metabolic pathways in this organelle. Recent reports in Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum have shown that the iron-sulfur cluster (FeS)-containing ferredoxin is essential in tachyzoite and blood-stage parasites, respectively. Here we review ferredoxin's crucial contribution to isoprenoid and lipoate biosynthesis as well as tRNA modification in the apicoplast, highlighting similarities and differences between the two species. We also discuss ferredoxin's potential role in the initial reductive steps required for FeS synthesis as well as recent evidence that offers an explanation for how NADPH required by the redox system might be generated in Plasmodium spp.

Address: FG16 Parasitology, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany; Division of Biomedical Science and Biochemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.; Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.; Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].; FG16 Parasitology, Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.08.002

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MeSH Terms: Apicomplexa, Apicoplasts, Electrons, Ferredoxins, Iron, NADP, Oxidation-Reduction, Plasmodium falciparum, RNA, Transfer, Sulfur, Terpenes, Toxoplasma