# Determinants of apicoplast maintenance in malaria parasites

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $405,000

## Abstract

Malaria parasites contain a plastid organelle called the apicoplast that is required for parasite survival in
humans and for transmission to mosquitoes. The apicoplast has long been recognized as an important source
of new drug targets to combat the inevitable problem of drug resistance, however, it has proven difficult to
identify and validate apicoplast proteins that are essential for parasite survival. This goal is now achievable
using new genetic tools in combination with metabolic bypass of the apicoplast. Blood stage parasites treated
with the isoprene compound IPP (isopentenyl pyrophosphate) survive apicoplast inhibitors - even those which
result in disruption of the organelle and loss of the organellar genome. Recently, we used the IPP metabolic
bypass to demonstrate that iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis is essential for maintenance of the organelle. We
propose to use reverse and forward genetic approaches in conjunction with metabolic bypass to identify other
nuclear-encoded proteins which are essential for apicoplast function and parasite survival. We will also use a
new conditional localization tool to further characterize the roles of specific proteins and the phenotypes
associated with their loss. Our experiments will help to build a more complete picture of the metabolic
pathways and non-metabolic processes required for apicoplast function and parasite survival. Ultimately, we
intend to identify novel targets and to validate known targets for future development of drugs to cure malaria
and stop its transmission.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9914084
- **Project number:** 5R01AI125534-05
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sean Taylor PRIGGE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $405,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-05-20 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9914084

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9914084, Determinants of apicoplast maintenance in malaria parasites (5R01AI125534-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9914084. Licensed CC0.

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