Mutant/mutation
The mutant lacks expression of PBANKA_123740 (iron-sulfur assembly protein, putative; SufA) and expresses mCherry under the control of the sufa promoter and expresses GFP under the control of the constitutive hsp70 promoter

Protein (function)
Iron-sulfur [Fe-S] clusters are small inorganic cofactors that are present in most organisms. Proteins containing [Fe-S] clusters are involved in numerous biological processes, ranging from mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and photosynthesis to DNA replication, DNA repair, ribosome biogenesis, and regulation of gene expression. Bacteria harbor the sulfur utilization factor (SUF) and ironsulfur cluster (ISC) systems for assembly of [Fe-S] clusters. In eukaryotes, [Fe-S] biogenesis machineries are thought to have evolved from their bacterial counterparts that had been acquired by endosymbiosis.
In Plasmodium components of the SUF and ISC systems have been identified by bioinformatic analyses. Like in other eukaryotes, the ISC system is predicted to localize to the mitochondrion and the SUF system to the apicoplast.
In Plasmodium, all components of the SUF system are nuclear-encoded, except for SUFB, which is encoded in the small circular apicoplast genome
An systematic experimental genetics analysis of the P. berghei apicoplast SUF system shows that four of five nuclear encoded P. berghei SUF genes (SUFC, D, E, S) are refractory to gene deletion and, hence, can be considered likely essential for blood stage proliferation. Endogenous tagging confirmed accessibility of the loci to targeted gene modification and the resulting fluorescent fusion proteins showed co-localizations with an apicoplast resident protein.
Targeted deletion was successful of SUFA, indicative of a dispensable role during asexual blood stage growth in vivo. Furthermore, no abnormalities were observed during Plasmodium life cycle progression in the mosquito. In the liver a reduced (50%) merosome formation was observed.

Phenotype
Targeted deletion was successful of SUFA, indicative of a dispensable role during asexual blood stage growth in vivo. Furthermore, no abnormalities were observed during Plasmodium life cycle progression in the mosquito. In the liver a reduced (50%) merosome formation was observed.

Additional information

Other mutants
Search for text term iron-sulfur (or SUF) for additional unsuccesfull attempts to dirupt SUF genes and for mutants expressing tagged-versions of SUF genes
RMgm-987: A mutant expressing an mCherry-3xMyc tagged version of SufA