Leela N, Prommana P, Kamchonwongpaisan S, Taechalertpaisarn T, Shaw PJ. Antimalarial target vulnerability of the putative
Plasmodium falciparum methionine synthase.
PeerJ 2024;
12:e16595. [PMID:
38239295 PMCID:
PMC10795524 DOI:
10.7717/peerj.16595]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Background
Plasmodium falciparum possesses a cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase (MS). MS is putatively encoded by the PF3D7_1233700 gene, which is orthologous and syntenic in Plasmodium. However, its vulnerability as an antimalarial target has not been assessed.
Methods
We edited the PF3D7_1233700 and PF3D7_0417200 (dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase, DHFR-TS) genes and obtained transgenic P. falciparum parasites expressing epitope-tagged target proteins under the control of the glmS ribozyme. Conditional loss-of-function mutants were obtained by treating transgenic parasites with glucosamine.
Results
DHFR-TS, but not MS mutants showed a significant proliferation defect over 96 h, suggesting that P. falciparum MS is not a vulnerable antimalarial target.
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