PEROXISOMES AND HYDROGENOSOMES IN PROTOZOA

Primitive anaerobic protozoa: the wrong host for mitochondria and hydrogenosomes?

Origins of mitochondria and hydrogenosomes.

Complete genome sequences for many mitochondria, as well as for some bacteria, together with the nuclear genome sequence of yeast have provided a coherent view of the origin of mitochondria. In particular, conventional phylogenetic reconstructions with genes coding for proteins active in energy metabolism and translation have confirmed the simplest version of the endosymbiosis hypothesis. In co...

The missing link between hydrogenosomes and mitochondria.

Mitochondria typically respire oxygen and possess a small DNA genome. But among various groups of oxygen-shunning eukaryotes, typical mitochondria are often lacking, organelles called hydrogenosomes being found instead. Like mitochondria, hydrogenosomes are surrounded by a double-membrane, produce ATP and sometimes even have cristae. In contrast to mitochondria, hydrogenosomes produce molecular...

The Road to Hydrogenosomes

Recent studies increasingly support the hypothesis that organelles originating from the mitochondrial endosymbiotc event comprise a family of diverse structures and not only the typical mitochondria, with their characteristic cristate structure functioning as aerobic powerhouses of cells. This large family is regarded today to encompass a broad, almost continuous spectrum of organelles, from th...

Cardiolipin in hydrogenosomes: evidence of symbiotic origin.

Hydrogenosomes are found in organisms that lack typical mitochondria. Cardiolipin is a phospholipid located exclusively in bacterial membranes and the inner membrane of mitochondria. Here we show, by cell fractionation, thin-layer chromatography, high-pressure liquid chromatography, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry that hydrogenosomes of Tritricho...