Antibiotics are effective because they kill bacteria without harming humans and other eukaryotes (organisms with cells that contain nuclei). So... » More

Antibiotics are effective because they kill bacteria without harming humans and other eukaryotes (organisms with cells that contain nuclei). So why are the eukaryotic parasites responsible for malaria and toxoplasmosis killed by drugs like clindamycin? Multidisciplinary studies integrating molecular genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, pharmacology and computational genomics reveal that such drugs target an unusual organelle. The "apicoplast" was acquired when an ancestral organism 'ate' a eukaryotic alga, and retained the algal plastid -- a relative of plant chloroplasts derived from a bacterial ancestor. Although no longer photosynthetic, the apicoplast is essential for parasite survival, providing new targets for drug development.

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