Plasmodium falciparum: organelle-specific acquisition of lipoic acid

Abstract

Lipoic acid is an essential cofactor of multienzyme complexes that are integral to energy metabolism, amino acid degradation and folate metabolism. In recent years it has been shown that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum possesses organelle-specific pathways that guarantee the lipoylation of their multienzyme complexes which occur in the mitochondrion (LA salvage) and in a plastid-like organelle, the apicoplast (LA biosynthesis). The unique distribution of the lipoylation machineries and the unique metabolic requirements of the parasites present a situation that is potentially exploitable for new ways to improve malaria control.