Question

Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria-causing parasite, has some unique constraints on its nucleotide

       metabolism. The parasite is unable to synthesize purine rings via the de novo pathway and cannot salvage

       preformed pyrimidine nucleosides. Thus, it must use preformed purine nucleosides from the red blood cell host

       and synthesize pyrimidines de novo. Given the above information, which two enzymes of nucleotide

              metabolism would you target for inhibition to control growth of Plasmodium falciparum? Why?

Answer 1

Aspartate carbonyl transferase is a crucial enzyme which transfers carbamoyl phosphate to aspartic acid and makes carbonyl aspartate.as this is crucial enzyme for de Novo pyrimidine synthesis and the parasite synthesis pyrimidine , it can be targeted and thus no pyrimidine will be produced and thus no replication will be happened.

Dihydroorotate dehydrogenease can also be targeted because it is also a important enzyme in de Novo pyrimidine synthesis.

Salvage pathway's enzymes can't be targeted as it is not present in falciparum.if you target it then ,all the cells of our body will have defected salvage pathway and thus defective. DNA synthesis.