ArticleMalaria journal2013
Cryo-electron tomography reveals four-membrane architecture of the Plasmodium apicoplast.
Article in Malaria journal, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Identification of a Putative Metal Transporter in the Apicoplast of Malaria Parasites.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Optimisation of freeze substitution protocols for the examination of malaria parasite structure by volumetric electron microscopy.Journal of microscopy · 2026Article
- Transporters, an important but poorly studied area of Toxoplasma gondii.Parasites & vectors · 2026Review
- Cellular Hallmarks From Volume Electron Microscopy Reveal Developmental Progression of Plasmodium Ookinetes.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- The dynamin-related protein PfDyn2 is essential for both apicoplast and mitochondrial fission inmBio · 2025Article
- Malaria parasites require a divergent heme oxygenase for apicoplast gene expression and biogenesis.eLife · 2024Article
- Malaria parasites require a divergent heme oxygenase for apicoplast gene expression and biogenesis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- A pyruvate transporter in the apicoplast of apicomplexan parasites.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Recent advances in infectious disease research using cryo-electron tomography.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2023Review
- The ferredoxin redox system - an essential electron distributing hub in the apicoplast of Apicomplexa.Trends in parasitology · 2022Review
- Structural parasitology of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.Trends in biochemical sciences · 2022Review
- Plasmodium-a brief introduction to the parasites causing human malaria and their basic biology.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2021Review
- There Is Treasure Everywhere: Reductive Plastid Evolution in Apicomplexa in Light of Their Close Relatives.Biomolecules · 2019Review
- Plastid-endomembrane connections in apicomplexan parasites.PLoS pathogens · 2019Review
- Article
- Kingdom Chromista and its eight phyla: a new synthesis emphasising periplastid protein targeting, cytoskeletal and periplastid evolution, and ancient divergences.Protoplasma · 2018Article
- Characterization of the Plasmodium falciparum and P. berghei glycerol 3-phosphate acyltransferase involved in FASII fatty acid utilization in the malaria parasite apicoplast.Cellular microbiology · 2017Article
- Membrane and luminal proteins reach the apicoplast by different trafficking pathways in the malaria parasitePeerJ · 2017Article
- Transcripts in the Plasmodium Apicoplast Undergo Cleavage at tRNAs and Editing, and Include Antisense Sequences.Protist · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe apicoplast is a plastid organelle derived from a secondary endosymbiosis, containing biosynthetic pathways essential for the survival of apicomplexan parasites. The Toxoplasma apicoplast clearly possesses four membranes but in related Plasmodium spp. the apicoplast has variably been reported to have either three or four membranes.
methodsCryo-electron tomography was employed to image merozoites of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei frozen in their near-native state. Three-dimensional reconstructions revealed the number of apicoplast membranes and the association of the apicoplast with other organelles. Routine transmission electron microscopy of parasites preserved by high-pressure freezing followed by freeze substitution techniques was also used to analyse apicoplast morphology.
resultsCryo-preserved parasites showed clearly four membranes surrounding the apicoplast. A wider gap between the second and third apicoplast membranes was frequently observed. The apicoplast was found in close proximity to the nucleus and to the rhoptries. The apicoplast matrix showed ribosome-sized particles and membranous whorls.
conclusionsThe Plasmodium apicoplast possesses four membranes, as do the apicoplasts of other apicomplexan parasites. This is consistent with a four-membraned secondary endosymbiotic plastid ancestor.
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