A MINIMALIST VIEW OF THE SECRETORY PATHWAY IN PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM

Would nature accept a eukaryotic cell that lacks a Golgi complex durin g a major part of its life cycle? Here, George Banting, Jurgen Benting and Klaus Lingelbach review recent morphological and biochemical data on the asexual intraerythrocytic stages of the protozoan parasite Pla smodium falciparum. They argue that these data may indicate that some stages of the life-cycle of this highly specialized organism lack a 'c lassical' Golgi complex.