Pantothenate biosynthesis is critical for the establishment of chronic infection by the neurotropic parasite Toxoplasma gondii

Coenzyme A (CoA) is an essential and highly versatile molecule acting in metabolism, post-translational modification, and regulation of gene expression. While all organisms synthesize CoA, many, including humans, are unable to produce its precursor, pantothenate (Pan, vitamin B5). Intriguingly, like most plants, fungi and bacteria, parasites of the coccidian subgroup of Apicomplexa, including the human and animal pathogen Toxoplasma gondii, possess all the enzymes required for de novo synthesis of Pan. Here, the importance of CoA and Pan biosynthesis was scrutinized in the acute and chronic stages of T. gondii infection. Genetic, biochemical and metabolomic approaches revealed that all steps of CoA synthesis are active and essential in T. gondii tachyzoites. Instead, although enzymatic activity was demonstrated in vitro, Pan biosynthesis proved to be inactive and dispensable in tachyzoites, highlighting the capacity of the parasite to salvage Pan from the host. This dataset contains the transcriptomics data generated for both the host and parasite (under Pan depletion) to understand the underlying transcript changes and the source of the residual Pan for parasite survival.