(A) FeS assembly in the Plasmodium falciparum apicoplast. In the sulfur acquisition step, SufS, liberates sulfur from cysteine (Cys), resulting in a bound persulfide. SufE transfers sulfur from SufS to SufB of the SufBC2D FeS assembly complex. SufA and NfuApi receive FeS cofactors from the SufBC2D complex and transfer them to downstream FeS-dependent proteins. The proteins investigated in this study are colored blue. Ala, alanine; Fe, iron. (D) Representative epifluorescence microscopy images of ΔsufC (top panel) and ΔsufD (bottom panel) parasites show a single intact apicoplast.

Swift RP, Elahi R, Rajaram K, Liu HB, Prigge ST. The Plasmodium falciparum apicoplast cysteine desulfurase provides sulfur for both iron sulfur cluster assembly and tRNA modification. Elife. 2023. PMID: 37166116