Hunger games in the host cell: Toxoplasma traps and skins host mitochondria.

Toxoplasma gondii actively tethers host mitochondria to its vacuole, altering their function. In a recent issue of Science, Li et al. demonstrate that Toxoplasma disarms host metabolic defenses by inducing the organelle to shed atypical large structures from its outer membrane to trap mitochondrial proteins that restrict parasite growth.