The calcium signaling toolkit of the Apicomplexan parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium spp

- Ca2+ has important roles in virulence-related traits in Apicomplexan parasites.
- Apicomplexan parasites show important differences in Ca2+ homeostasis from other eukaryotic cells.
- Calmodulins, calmodulin-like proteins, and Ca2+-dependent protein kinases are present.
- Plasmodium spp. and Toxoplasma gondii possess acidocalcisomes and other acidic stores.
- Ca2+ signaling studies in these parasites could shed light of origins of complex signaling networks.