Editing Plasmodium (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Plasmodium.png|thumb|''Plasmodium'' is a [[eukaryote]] but with unusual features.]]

The genus ''Plasmodium'' consists of all [[eukaryote]]s in the phylum Apicomplexa that both undergo the asexual replication process of [[merogony]] inside host [[red blood cell]]s and produce the crystalline pigment [[hemozoin]] as a byproduct of digesting host [[hemoglobin]].<ref name=TOL/> ''Plasmodium'' species contain many features that are common to other eukaryotes, and some that are unique to their phylum or genus. The ''Plasmodium'' [[genome]] is separated into 14 [[chromosomes]] contained in the [[cell nucleus|nucleus]]. ''Plasmodium'' parasites maintain [[haploid|a single copy]] of their genome through much of the life cycle, [[diploid|doubling]] the genome only for a brief sexual exchange within the [[midgut]] of the insect host.<ref name=Obado>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.molbiopara.2016.07.008|pmid=27475118|title=The nuclear envelope and gene organization in parasitic protozoa: Specializations associated with disease|journal=Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology|volume=209|issue=1–2|pages=104–113|year=2016|last1=Obado|first1=Samson O|last2=Glover|first2=Lucy |last3=Deitsch |first3=Kirk W.}}</ref> Attached to the nucleus is the [[endoplasmic reticulum]] (ER), which functions similarly to the ER in other eukaryotes. Proteins are trafficked from the ER to the [[Golgi apparatus]] which generally consists of a single membrane-bound compartment in Apicomplexans.<ref name=Ruiz>{{cite journal|doi= 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2016.01.007|pmid= 26844642|pmc= 5154328|title= Vacuolar protein sorting mechanisms in apicomplexan parasites|journal= Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology|volume= 209|issue= 1–2|pages= 18–25|year= 2016|last1= Jimenez-Ruiz|first1= Elena|last2= Morlon-Guyot|first2= Juliette|last3= Daher|first3= Wassim|last4= Meissner|first4= Markus}}</ref> From here, proteins are trafficked to various cellular compartments or to the cell surface.<ref name=Ruiz/>

Like other apicomplexans, ''Plasmodium'' species have several cellular structures at the [[Anatomical terms of location#apical|apical]] end of the parasite that serve as specialized organelles for secreting effectors into the host. The most prominent are the bulbous [[rhoptry|rhoptries]] which contain parasite proteins involved in invading the host cell and modifying the host once inside.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.pt.2013.03.003 |pmid=23570755 |title=Plasmodium rhoptry proteins: Why order is important|journal=Trends in Parasitology |volume=29 |issue=5|pages=228–36|year=2013|last1=Counihan|first1=Natalie A. |last2=Kalanon |first2=Ming |last3=Coppel |first3=Ross L.|last4=De Koning-Ward|first4=Tania F.}}</ref> Adjacent to the rhoptries are smaller structures termed [[microneme]]s that contain parasite proteins required for motility as well as recognizing and attaching to host cells.<ref name=Kemp2013>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/1574-6976.12013|pmid=23186105|title=Subversion of host cellular functions by the apicomplexan parasites|journal=FEMS Microbiology Reviews|volume=37|issue=4|pages=607–31|year=2013|last1=Kemp|first1=Louise E.|last2=Yamamoto|first2=Masahiro|last3=Soldati-Favre|first3=Dominique|url=https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:28792/ATTACHMENT01|doi-access=free}}</ref> Spread throughout the parasite are secretory [[Vesicle (biology and chemistry)|vesicle]]s called [[dense granules]] that contain parasite proteins involved in modifying the membrane that separates the parasite from the host, termed the [[parasitophorous vacuole]].<ref name=Kemp2013/>

Species of ''Plasmodium'' also contain two large membrane-bound organelles of [[Symbiogenesis|endosymbiotic origin]], the [[mitochondria|mitochondrion]] and the [[apicoplast]], both of which play key roles in the parasite's [[metabolism]]. Unlike mammalian cells which contain many mitochondria, ''Plasmodium'' cells contain a single large mitochondrion that coordinates its division with that of the ''Plasmodium'' cell.<ref name=Sheiner2013>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.mib.2013.07.003|pmid=23927894|title=The metabolic roles of the endosymbiotic organelles of Toxoplasma and Plasmodium spp|journal=Current Opinion in Microbiology|volume=16|issue=4 |pages=452–8|year=2013|last1=Sheiner |first1=Lilach |last2=Vaidya |first2=Akhil B.|last3=McFadden|first3=Geoffrey I.|pmc=3767399}}</ref> Like in other eukaryotes, the ''Plasmodium'' mitochondrion is capable of generating energy in the form of [[Adenosine triphosphate|ATP]] via the [[citric acid cycle]]; however, this function is only required for parasite survival in the insect host, and is not needed for growth in red blood cells.<ref name=Sheiner2013/> A second organelle, the apicoplast, is derived from a [[secondary endosymbiosis]] event, in this case the acquisition of a [[red alga]] by the ''Plasmodium'' ancestor.<ref name=McFadden2016>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.08.005|pmid=27773518|title=The apicoplast: Now you see it, now you don't|journal=International Journal for Parasitology|volume=47|issue=2–3|pages=137–144 |year=2017|last1=McFadden|first1=Geoffrey Ian|last2=Yeh|first2=Ellen|pmc=5406208}}</ref> The apicoplast is involved in the synthesis of various metabolic precursors, including [[fatty acid]]s, [[isoprenoid]]s, [[iron-sulphur cluster]]s, and components of the [[heme]] biosynthesis pathway.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dooren|first1=Giel|last2=Striepen |first2=Boris |title=The Algal Past and Parasite Present of the Apicoplast|journal=Annual Review of Microbiology|date=June 26, 2013|volume=67|pages=271–289|doi=10.1146/annurev-micro-092412-155741|pmid=23808340}}</ref>