FIG 2 .

ATG8 depletion leads to terminal apicoplast loss. (A) Apicoplast:nuclear genome ratio in ATG8-deficient, IPP-rescued parasites (grown for 4 cycles without aTC) measured by quantitative PCR. The ratios were normalized to ATG8⁺ culture (i.e., grown in the presence of aTC). Mean ± standard deviation for 2 biological replicates is shown. The P value was determined by unpaired two-tailed t test. (B) Representative microscopy images showing localization of apicoplast-targeted GFP (ACP_L-GFP), in schizont-stage ATG8⁺ or ATG8-deficient/IPP-rescued parasites depleted of ATG8 for 2 replication cycles. Bar, 5 µm. (C) Quantification of parasites with the indicated apicoplast morphology in ATG8⁺ or ATG8-deficient/IPP-rescued parasites as shown in panel B. Mean ± standard deviation of 2 independent experiments is shown. The P value was determined by unpaired two-tailed t test for the “tubulated” category. Data for separate replicates are shown in Fig. S2.