Iron‑sulfur cluster biogenesis and function in Apicomplexa parasites.

Iron‑sulfur cluster are ubiquitous and ancient protein cofactors that support a wide array of essential cellular functions. In eukaryotes, their assembly requires specific and dedicated machineries in each subcellular compartment. Apicomplexans are parasitic protists that are collectively responsible for a significant burden on the health of humans and other animals, and most of them harbor two organelles of endosymbiotic origin: a mitochondrion, and a plastid of high metabolic importance called the apicoplast.

3-Benzylmenadiones and their Heteroaromatic Analogues Target the Apicoplast of Apicomplexa Parasites: Synthesis and Bioimaging Studies.

The apicoplast is an essential organelle for the viability of apicomplexan parasites or , which has been proposed as a suitable drug target for the development of new antiplasmodial drug-candidates. Plasmodione, an antimalarial redox-active lead drug is active at low nM concentrations on several blood stages of such as early rings and gametocytes. Nevertheless, its precise biological targets remain unknown.

The mitochondrial transporter ABCB7L is essential for the biogenesis of cytosolic and nuclear iron-sulfur cluster proteins and cytosolic translation.

Unlabelled: Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are ubiquitous inorganic cofactors required for numerous essential cellular pathways. Since they cannot be scavenged from the environment, Fe-S clusters are synthesized in cellular compartments such as the apicoplast, mitochondrion, and cytosol. The cytosolic Fe-S cluster biosynthesis pathway relies on the transport of an intermediate from the mitochondrial pathway.

Iron depletion has different consequences on the growth and survival of strains.

is an obligate intracellular parasite responsible for a pathology called toxoplasmosis, which primarily affects immunocompromised individuals and developing foetuses. The parasite can scavenge essential nutrients from its host to support its growth and survival. Among them, iron is one of the most important elements needed to sustain basic cellular functions as it is involved in a number of key metabolic processes, including oxygen transport, redox balance, and electron transport.