A Green Algal Apicoplast Ancestor

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1076003
• Publication Date: 2002-12-12T21:05:01Z
• Authors: Soledad Funes; Edgar Davidson; Adrián Reyes-Prieto; Susana Magallón; Pascal Herion; Michael P. King; Diego González-H...
• Keywords: Apicoplast; Endosymbiosis; Organelle; Ancestor; Plasmodium (life cycle)

Apicomplexan parasites, including the human pathogens Toxoplasma and Plasmodium , contain a vestigial plastid, apicoplast. This chloroplast-derived organelle is remnant of secondary endosymbiosis between an ancestral apicomplexan photosynthetic organism whose origin moot ([1–4][