Toxoplasma metabolic flexibility in different growth conditions.

Daniel Walsh, Nicholas J Katris, Lilach Sheiner, Cyrille Y Botté

Trends in parasitology 2022 Sep

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Apicomplexan parasites have complex metabolic networks that coordinate acquisition of metabolites by de novo synthesis and by scavenging from the host. Toxoplasma gondii has a wide host range and may rely on the flexibility of this metabolic network. Currently, the literature categorizes genes as essential or dispensable according to their dispensability for parasite survival under nutrient-replete in vitro conditions. However, recent studies revealed correlations between medium composition and gene essentiality. Therefore, nutrient availability in the host environment likely determines the requirement of metabolic pathways, which may redefine priorities for drug target identification in a clinical setting. Here we review the recent work characterizing some of the major Toxoplasma metabolic pathways and their functional adaptation to host nutrient content. Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Citation

Daniel Walsh, Nicholas J Katris, Lilach Sheiner, Cyrille Y Botté. Toxoplasma metabolic flexibility in different growth conditions. Trends in parasitology. 2022 Sep;38(9):775-790