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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Prof. Boris Striepen, University of Georgia
What do human parasites do with a chloroplast anyway?
Biochemistry Seminar Series
Apicomplexan parasites are a major threat to human health causing malaria and a variety of AIDS associated opportunistic infections. One of the most promising targets for chemotherapeutic intervention for this group of pathogens is the apicoplast. The apicoplast is a unique parasite organelle that was derived from a red algal endosymbiont. Genome analyses suggest that the apicoplast is engaged in a variety of biosynthetic activities that could be targeted for drug development. Using Toxoplasma gondii as a genetic model organism we are dissecting the apicoplast metabolism to identify the most effective choke points. Taking a broader biological view we are interested to understand which of the endosymbiont’s functions is most critical and the reason for the continued presence of a plastid long after the loss of photosynthesis. Genetic approaches have also been highly informative to understand the cell biology of this endosymbiotic realationship and we will discuss recent advances.
See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=striepen for recent publications
 For more information contact Prof. Wendy Kelly (404-385-1154).
