Strange organelles –Plasmodium mitochondria lack a pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

Abstract

Our understanding of the Plasmodium mitochondrion and apicoplast has been greatly assisted by the genome sequence project. Sequence data have seeded recent research showing that the apicoplast is the site of several anabolic pathways including fatty acid synthesis. The discovery of an active apicoplast pyruvate dehydrogenase complex implies this enzyme generates the acetyl-CoA needed for fatty acid synthesis. However, the absence of a corresponding mitochondrial complex suggests that energy generation in Plasmodium is considerably different from pathways described in other eukaryotes.