Nature Communications (Feb 2017)

Cationic amino acid transporters play key roles in the survival and transmission of apicomplexan parasites

  • Esther Rajendran,
  • Sanduni V. Hapuarachchi,
  • Catherine M. Miller,
  • Stephen J. Fairweather,
  • Yeping Cai,
  • Nicholas C. Smith,
  • Ian A. Cockburn,
  • Stefan Bröer,
  • Kiaran Kirk,
  • Giel G. van Dooren

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14455
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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Apicomplexans are parasites that use membrane transporters to scavenge essential nutrients from the host. Here the authors identify and characterize two apicomplexans transporters showing that these are crucial for cationic amino acid uptake, parasite survival and virulence.