tRNA lysidinylation is essential for the minimal translation system found in the apicoplast of Plasmodium falciparum

For decades, researchers have sought to define minimal genomes to elucidate the fundamental principles of life and advance biotechnology. tRNAs, essential components of this machinery, decode mRNA codons into amino acids. The apicoplast of malaria parasites encodes 25 tRNA isotypes in its organellar genome - the lowest number found in known translation systems. Efficient translation in such minimal systems depends heavily on post-transcriptional tRNA modifications, especially at the wobble anticodon position. Lysidine modification at the wobble position (C34) of tRNACAU distinguishes between methionine (AUG) and isoleucine (AUA) codons, altering the amino acid delivered by this tRNA and ensuring accurate protein synthesis. Lysidine is formed by the enzyme tRNA isoleucine lysidine synthetase (TilS) and is nearly ubiquitous in bacteria and essential for cellular viability. We identified a TilS ortholog (PfTilS) located in the apicoplast of Plasmodium falciparum parasites. By complementing PfTilS with a bacterial ortholog, we demonstrated that the lysidinylation activity of PfTilS is critical for parasite survival and apicoplast maintenance, likely due to its impact on apicoplast protein translation. Our findings represent the first characterization of TilS in an endosymbiotic organelle, advancing eukaryotic organelle research and our understanding of minimal translational machinery. Due to the absence of lysidine modifications in humans, this research also exposes a potential vulnerability in malaria parasites that could be targeted by antimalarial strategies.