Apicoplast-Resident Processes: Exploiting the Chink in the Armour of Plasmodium falciparum Parasites

Table 1

Druggable housekeeping targets localised in the apicoplast, their function, and inhibitors.

Drug target	Function	Inhibitors	References
DNA gyrase	Type II topoisomerase. Helps resolve topological problems during replication and transcription	Piprofloxacin, purpurogallin, novobiocin, clindamycin	[28, 36, 74]
Nuclear-encoded apicoplast DNA polymerase (apPOL)	Responsible for replicating and repairing the apicoplast genome	MMV666123, KU0263501, KU0036696, KU0260920, KU0007309, KU0241474, KU0177470, KU0261556, KU0001071, KU0271653	[75, 76]
Apicoplast ribosome	RNA translation	Tetracycline, chloramphenicol, fusidic acid, azithromycin	[70, 82]
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS)	Aminoacyl-tRNA synthesis	Phenylalanine analogue (e.g., ochratoxin A), halofuginone	[17, 84]