Trypanosome Mitochondrial Translation and Tetracycline: No Sweat about Tet.

A recent study vividly demonstrates the unintended impact of the antibiotic tetracycline (Tet) on animal and plant mitochondrial translation, which corresponds to the α-proteobacterial origin of the organelle. This effect was ultimately manifested by an impact on the cellular, and even organismal, levels in the studied eukaryotes. Thus, widespread use of Tet in agriculture and biomedical research is now under scrutiny. Interestingly, Tet does not affect this process in trypanosomatids. The highly divergent nature of trypanosomatid mitochondrial ribosomes may explain why these flagellates are insensitive to Tet.