Toxoplasma gondii devoid of an apicoplast - Addition

This is an addition to a previously published dataset termed 'Toxoplasma gondii devoid of an apicoplast', accessible under 10.26037/yareta:kc446nwxifbvtb5z7l2f6tayga

This dataset is associated with a study describing the investigation of Toxoplasma gondii devoid of its apicoplast organelle.

The apicoplast, a remnant plastid organelle from secondary endosymbiosis, is crucial for most medically relevant Apicomplexa. Although it has lost its photosynthetic function, it retains essential metabolic pathways. In this study, we examine the four primary metabolic pathways in the Toxoplasma gondii apicoplast, along with an accessory pathway, and identify conditions that can bypass these pathways either partially or completely. Contrary to the belief that the apicoplast is indispensable for T. gondii, we show that bypassing all pathways renders the apicoplast non-essential. We demonstrate that T. gondii lacking an apicoplast (T. gondii−Apico) can be sustained indefinitely in culture, providing a unique model to investigate the organelle’s functions. Comprehensive metabolomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses of T. gondii−Apico reveal significant adaptation mechanisms following the organelle’s loss and identify approximately 100 putative apicoplast proteins, characterized by their reduced abundance in the absence of the organelle. Furthermore, T. gondii−Apico exhibit decreased sensitivity to compounds targeting the apicoplast, aiding in the discovery of new apicoplast-targeting drugs. The ability to culture T. gondii without its plastid offers new opportunities to explore the organelle and develop novel therapeutic strategies against apicomplexans.

This dataset includes data on

1) the analyses of fatty acids in parasites with or without the organelle following 13C labelling - performed in the Soldati-Favre laboratory at the University of Geneva
2) transcriptomic analysis comparing parasites with and without the organelle - performed by the iGe3 Institute of Genetics and Genomics in Geneva (University of Geneva)

All details concerning the analysis can be found in the associated publication and the included text files.