Apicoplast triose phosphate transporter (TPT) gene knockout is lethal for Plasmodium

The C3, C5, C6 type sugar phosphate transporters bring sugars inside apicoplast, thus providing energy, reducing power and elements like carbon to apicoplast. Plasmodium berghei has two C3 type sugar phosphate transporters in the membrane of apicoplast: triose phosphate transporter (TPT) and phosphoenolpyruvate transporter (PPT). Here we report that P. berghei TPT knockout parasites failed to survive. However, PPT knockout parasite behaved similar to the wild type in the blood stages. The absence of PPT in other life stages, leads to defects in the development of parasite and was required at both mosquito as well as liver stages. This study also underlines the essentiality of triose transporters for apicoplast and its downstream pathways.

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► Plasmodium berghei triose phosphate transporter (TPT) knockout parasites (KO) fail to survive.
► P. berghei phosphoenolpyruvate transporter (PPT) KO behave similar to the wild type in blood stage parasite.
► PPT-KO shows defects in sporozoite and liverstage parasite development.
► In the blood stages, in absence of PPT its substrate is likely transported by TPT.
► Study underlines the essentiality of triose transporters for apicoplast.